The Wolf's Detective
by DisneyKd4
Summary: Five years ago, Mycroft Holmes discovered a woman with no past but had the specific skill set he'd been searching for. Now, he's sent her to Dartmoor to keep the one person that can see through his cover stories far away from the secrets hidden in Baskerville -Sherlock Holmes. She's going to babysit, but they both find the other far too intriguing to leave alone.
1. The Beginning

The cave was completely silent. Located in the middle of South Downs national park, the Tetraps who's set up there picked a perfect location for peace and quiet. However, with the new trails being built close to their home and several hikers arriving in hospitals with bleary eyes, it was declared they needed to be approached and either asked to relocate to another forest or to another planet. UNIT wasn't sure when they had arrived, having been peaceful up until now, so they were hoping this would be more of a diplomatic mission. Now the UNIT First-Class team were waiting for their leader's signal as she walked through the cave to neutralize the two Tetraps that had attacked them the previous day. Despite having poor eyesight and slow movements, with four ears facing in every direction neutralizing with the whole team would have been impossible so it was decided the most experienced and high-ranking member of the team would go in alone.

Rose Tyler was nothing if not agile from her years of working with the government, both this one and her previous one, so she didn't break the silence once as she walked towards the upside-down, asleep aliens. Lifting the tranquilizer, she was hoping to neutralize and then detain the aliens on a ship and send them off before waking, but apparently some people didn't know how to follow orders.

*RING*

"ARGHH!" Both Tetraps swung down and landed on all fours, the fur on their backs standing up and their teeth barred at the intruder. For her part, Rose didn't hesitate to shoot the tranquilizers at the now conscious aliens, her team flooding into the cave for backup.

*RING*

One of the Tetraps, the female by look of her eye, was hit by the tranquilizer but pulled it out and kept advancing on Rose, while the male avoided getting hit and moved faster than his mate to grab a hold of Rose and throw her against the wall. Before impact however, Rose twisted and hit the wall feet first, bouncing off of it and landing in a crouch, throwing her back-up plan to the feet of the Tetraps and watching the Portable Prison spring up around the aliens and slam shut. With the steel bubble set to contain them for the next hour, all the UNIT First-Class team could hear now was the Tetraps howls of outrage and the ringing of their leader's phone.

With her own growl of outrage, Rose wrenched out her mobile and answered, not needing to see who was calling when she only had the one contact. "What?" She demanded, stomping out of the cave and giving her team, filled with men and women she had hand-picked, the trust to finish the job while she dealt with her nuisance.

"I need you to head over to Dartmoor immediately, let your team finish up the work with the Tetraps without you," The man's voice filtered through the phone while Rose climbed into the truck and slammed the door behind her.

"I've already finished the job, however next time, read the debrief I give you on the aliens I'm dealing with. Maybe then you'll know not to call my mobile while I'm dealing with sound-sensitive creatures!" Rose snapped into her mobile, putting it aside while Mr. Mycroft Holmes began speaking about things more important than her files on aliens, a speech Rose Tyler had heard many times before and was in no mood to hear it again.

While she let Mycroft drone on about how important he was, Rose gave orders to her team she was leaving behind, ensuring the aliens were kept safe and sent off with no more problems. When she picked the phone back up, she was surprised and a little satisfied that Mycroft had stopped talking and realized she was ignoring him.

"Are you quite done?" She asked.

"As, I was saying, it appears that the Baskerville facility has not had an inspection since the last world war and I'm sending you there to get it done."

"That's not my job," Rose snapped once again, her bad mood growing worse with the length of the conversation with Mycroft. "I work in the field, send one of your goons to inspect it."

"Ms. Tyler, do you know what Baskerville is?" Mycroft said in that condescending tone she hated.

"Of course not, but you knew that already so why don't you tell me, I'm in no mood to indulge you today, Mycroft." Rose took a tight turn off the dirt road she had been driving on, and started racing down a paved road, headed in the direction of Dartmoor.

"Baskerville is a Military Defense research base."

"Once again, not my area," Rose said, both her and Mycroft having had several heated discussions on her view of defense and his.

"No," he gave one of his famous deep sighs before continuing. "But the facility is more research than it is defense and one of the things it researches is extra-terrestrial beings."

"Researches them how?" Rose tested.

"That is why you are being sent to give an inspection."

"You're giving me free rein over a Military base that hasn't had anybody to report to for over a decade?" Rose clarified.

"Yes."

"What did you do?"

Another deep sigh could be heard over the phone. "Ms. Tyler, you are most qualified to give a complete inspection, that is the only reason I am sending you to Dartmoor."

"That's nice. So what do you want from me?" This time, a grin spread over her face when she heard the third sigh of the phone call- she was close to breaking a record.

"I expect a full report on the findings of the inspection and when you return to town we will have a meeting over where Baskerville research should be headed. Have a good day, Ms. Tyler."

"You as well, Mycroft, do try to get up and walk around the office some. A diet can only go so far." With that Rose hung up and released a howl of laughter, pulling onto the highway and driving towards Dartmoor, interested to see what Mycroft actually wanted Rose to do. Giving her a facility full of people to torment could only mean he had other plans for her she would like even less than doing an inspection.

As she drove through the semi-familiar land, Rose tried to pick out all of the differences from this universe, and the two others she had been in, a game she played often to keep everything straight in her mind. It was harder to see the differences in this universe than in her old one, but the differences from Pete's Universe and this one were always easy. For one, this new universe didn't have Zeppelins or a President. The only obvious difference the new universe has against both of Rose's previous universes, was the existence of aliens in the universe and on Earth was still a secret from the general public. When she asked Mycroft how they had managed it for so long his answer was "the only person capable of seeing through my cover stories finds the news too ordinary to pay attention to and reads nothing but the criminal news and the agony column." He was, of course, talking about his brother, Sherlock Holmes, the one man that made this universe so very different from the Original Universe.

When she arrived in the Sherlock Universe, as she had started to refer to it once she discovered the famous detective was in fact real here, she was alone without a job or history. For a week she managed to walk around London learning all the different streets and shops before attracting unwanted attention. It had of course been an accident, but despite her training and expertise in handling aliens, Rose Tyler was still Jeopardy Friendly and managed to walk into an attempt to capture a Wirrn. Having seen the human sized insect in Pete's universe, Rose stopped the UNIT team from endangering the queen of this pack of Wirrns, resolving the issue peacefully- something UNIT had never seen before.

Rose managed to escape from the UNIT team when they tried to bring her in, but no one stays away from Mycroft Holmes for long and by the end of the week, Rose Tyler was sitting in front of his desk making a deal with the man behind the British Government. She would work for UNIT, doing field work as well as training, and Mycroft would provide her a background, a living, and refrain from asking questions about her past. The last part of the deal was broken almost immediately once Mycroft realized Rose had no past to ask about, but the deal was quickly put back into place and Rose found that though the eldest Holmes brother was trying on her nerves, they understood one another, worked well together, and they both knew they needed one another for their own benefits. For Mycroft, Rose offered her expertise and for Rose, Mycroft offered safety in an unknown universe.

It was with these thoughts that Rose knew Mycroft was not sending her to Baskerville because it was secretly going to end up being field work, he would always give her all the information before sending her to deal with a dangerous alien. Instead, he had to be sending her to do a job he needs done by someone he can trust, but won't admit it to anyone, most especially her.

So Rose drove along the southern border of the United Kingdom towards Dartmoor, putting more trust in her sense of direction than she should have. With the Unit First-Class team, she had spent most of the day preparing to capture the Tetraps, so it was well into the night that she pulled into a gas station looking for directions.

After she parked her jeep next to a fuel tank, Rose checked her mirrors to discreetly take in her surroundings and noted only one other car was in the parking lot with two men near it. The tallest of the two stayed in the car, while the other man got out to pay the gas. Rose could tell the taller, dark haired man in the car was not interested in anything outside the car, and the shorter fellow appeared harmless, if more observant than most as he was also taking in the surroundings. When Rose opened her door, both men looked up but dismissed her quickly while she walked towards the gas station's store.

The store seemed to be closed, but there was a young man sitting behind the cash register, occasionally glancing at the security screen next to him. When she reached the doors and tried them, she wasn't surprised to find they were locked.

"We're closed, if the tank isn't taking your card try another!" The boy shouted from inside, not even glancing up from his device.

Rose sucked in a deep breath to reel in the Tyler Temper, and found enough strength to smile at the boy. "It's not that, I need directions." She had to raise her voice to be heard through the glass doors, and felt both of the men's attention return to her at the volume but it finally got the boy to look up. It didn't help much though because he just pointed to the closed sign.

"Look, lady, we're closed. Read the sign. Get your gas and go." The boy dismissed Rose once again and looked back down. Rose released a rather loud growl of frustration and banged on the glass doors once before turning away and stomping back to her jeep. She could have picked the lock, was thinking she should have, but not with an audience.

Before she reached her jeep, however, her pathway was blocked by the short, slightly greying hair man that was fueling his car up a minute before. Rose stopped short to avoid barreling into him, and took a step away, not out of defense but to observe her subject now that she was closer. Her earlier observation of him being harmless was wrong, though he was at the moment, she recognized the solider stance. He had fought, not as a soldier, but he had still seen combat and been wounded in war. Though she saw no limp, while he stood in front of her he favored one leg heavier than another, but the injury seemed focus more on his shoulder than his leg.

Aside from his previous involvement in whatever war was being raged in this universe, Rose could feel the addiction to adventure she felt as well. There was no evidence she could find on him, nothing that read runner or troublemaker, but she knew he was for no other reason than she felt as though she had met a kindred-soul and after years of traveling with the Doctor, she learned to trust her instinct on people before she trusted her observations of them.

"Hi, I'm sorry, I couldn't help but over hear you needed help?" The man observed, giving her a concerned look that she vanished with an easy grin.

"Yeah, I really thought I could make it to Dartmoor without any help considering all the signs and it is a National Park and all, but I've just got too much confidence in myself apparently," Rose explained. She glanced towards his car and noticed his friend sitting in the passenger seat looking rather impatient. "But don't worry 'bout me, this'll be no where near the hardest situation I've gotta get out of."

"No, I can't just let you drive off without knowing where you're going!" The man exclaimed, he too glanced behind him and took in the sight Rose saw. "Look, we're not from around here either, we're visiting from London for some work so I've got no idea where we are." Here, Rose grinned at this man and he grinned back. "But we're headed to Dartmoor as well, and we've got a GPS in the car. You could follow us if you'd like?"

"Oh, that would be fantastic. Are you sure that's alright?" Rose inquired, biting her lip.

"Can't have you driving around lost and in the dark, now can we?" The man smiled and offered his hand. "I'm John by the way."

"Rose," she answered, grasping his offered hand, watching as he pulled out his phone.

"Do you mind if I get your number?" He asked, grimacing and beginning to stutter when Rose lifted an eyebrow at him. "Er, no not like that! .. I mean not that you're not pretty but I just thought -in case we get separated- I can get a hold of you and help you get back on track."

Rose's laugh put John at ease and she smiled, but didn't move to take out her phone. "I think I'll be alright, there aren't a lot of cars on the road."

"I insist, if you're worried I'll bug you later for a date or something, I promise to delete the contact once I know you're in Dartmoor," John pushed, giving an honest smile to encourage Rose, but she still hesitated. Mycroft would not be happy with her if he knew she was giving out her number, especially if she gave her name with it, but he got her into this mess so...

"Alright, you ready?" She asked, beginning to tell John the numbers. "Got it?"

"Got it." Just then, his friend honked and they both turned to see him scowling at John. "Better go, he's likely to throw a tantrum."

Rose laughed and patted John on the arm. "I've got a friend just like that, John, so I'll save you from whatever lecture he is preparing and head over to my jeep. Thanks again!" John laughed with Rose and headed back to his own car.


	2. Sherlock Holmes

After driving nearly four hours, John Watson finally pulled into Cross Keys Inn, watching as the woman from the gas station pulled in after him, finding a parking spot on the other side of the parking lot. At first, John had promised Sherlock they could observe the area before going to the Inn, but with Rose following them and it nearing midnight, John was not up for exploring. This, of course, led to Sherlock getting upset, but when John reminded him there would be drunk Dartmoor residents at the Inn he could deduce and interrogate, Sherlock begrudgingly accepted.

Cross Keys Inn wasn't much, with its main focus seeming to be on the bar and restaurant then on the Inn, John wasn't expecting much, and neither did it seem Rose was when she hopped out of her jeep and grimaced at the Inn. She turned to him before heading inside, waiting for him to catch up with her while she offered him another beautiful grin. John may not have been as skilled as the consulting detective, but he knew something was different about this girl. The most obvious being the jeep she was driving was one of the military's meant for field work, it was what had John approaching her in the first place, hoping to help out a fellow soldier. It was a surprise to him that that was really his only reason. He registered Rose was beautiful and kind, but he was telling the truth earlier when he promised he wasn't looking for a date when he asked for her number.

Sherlock headed into the bar without offering to find them a room, causing John to roll his eyes at his friend's back and Rose chuckled at John's reaction. She curled her arm around his and pulled him into the Inn with another grin he couldn't help but return.

"Let's find us a room, yeah?" She asked with a playful wink that had them both laughing up to the counter.

Rose stepped up first, after John motioned for her to, and while she asked for any available room, John glanced around the room, focusing hard for the details Sherlock would have found already. He hated himself for how often he compared his skills with his best friend's but there was no helping it and it wasn't breeding any resentfulness so he didn't deter from doing it.

Gary, the manager, handed Rose a set of keys as she thanked him with another grin. John saw how relaxed Gary was around Rose, and watched with interest as she engaged Billy, Gary's partner and the barman, in an easy conversation when he arrived needing help from Gary. She was more of a people'e person than John was, and he vindictively hoped she would stick around long enough so he could see her handle Sherlock. Somehow, he thought she could stand her own against the detective.

While Billy was distracted with Rose, Gary was able to talk to John about getting a room, and once he left to get the keys, Rose excused herself from her conversation and stepped over to John. "Well, I better turn in." John noted she sounded almost reluctant to go and gave her a questioning look. "I've had a rather eventful day, and while I'm tired, I'm almost afraid to sleep for fear of missing something else exciting," Rose admitted.

"Want to get some drinks?" John offered, motioning at the door Billy had just exited out of.

"Already bugging me for a date, John?" Rose joked, but took his arm once again. "Only if you're buying me chips." She grinned up at him.

"Sorry, mate," Gary said, walking back to them and handing over keys. "This is the last room and its a queen bed." John swallowed back a gag and groaned into his hand at the thought of sharing a bed with Sherlock tonight.

"I've got two beds in my room," Rose spoke up. "We can switch for tonight, see if there are more rooms open tomorrow?" She glanced between Gary and John to see if that was okay, and at John's very visible relaxation, she laughed.

"I'll buy you all the chips you want for that." Rose laughed, and though John did also, he watched Gary laugh along with her, smiling at her fondly.

They walked towards the bar, passing over their respective keys. After passing into the bar, John looked around for Sherlock and saw him brooding by the fire, so he excused himself from Rose for a moment while she looked for a table and headed over to his friend. Though Sherlock would never admit it, he was capable of growing tired and John saw the signs for it, but knew if he pointed them out Sherlock would spout nonsense about not sleeping during cases so he had to be sly about it.

"Hey," John sat down in the chair opposite Sherlock and looked him over. "Find anything interesting?"

"Nothing," Sherlock snapped, leaning back roughly into the chair and releasing an exasperated sigh. "We should have gone looking around the area."

"At night?" John asked, wondering if Sherlock had even noticed.

"I'd still find more than here." It wasn't said boastfully, but boasting Sherlock most certainly was.

"Well, you're welcome to join Rose and I for drinks and chips."

"Rose?" Sherlock asked, mildly interested.

"The woman that got lost and followed us here?" John reminded him, but Sherlock waved his hand, indicating he remembered but didn't find it important. "She gave us her room because otherwise we'd only have one bed in the room."

"So?" Sherlock gave him a blank stare.

"No, I'm not explaining this one," John exclaimed, not missing Sherlock's quirk of the lip at his expense. John stood up, handing Sherlock his key. "Come thank her." Joh ordered, watching Sherlock stand up to do the opposite of what John asked him to do.

"No, I'll be in the room." John smiled once Sherlock's back was turned and looked around the bar to located Rose.

He found her in the back of the room, her eyes running along the bar and a pile of chips and two drinks in front of her already. As he walked towards the blonde woman, he tried to observe her once again, more interested in her than in comparing himself with Sherlock. Her hair wasn't naturally blonde, and she seemed to have a small amount of makeup on, but that was the only effort she put towards expressing her beauty, not that she needed more. She was younger than Sherlock and him, but not by much. She wasn't married and he didn't think she was in a relationship but didn't have evidence for his assumption like Sherlock would, except she was traveling alone. Then, with a start, he realized she had chosen a seat in a corner with her back against the wall and a clear view of both exits. John definitely wanted her to meet Sherlock.

"Ah, my knight has returned!" She exclaimed upon seeing him, motioning towards the seat in front of her. He was a bit uncomfortable having his back to the room, but was quickly put to ease by Rose's easy mannerisms.

After a few minutes of small talk, Rose propped her head against her hand and leaned heavily on the table with a yawn. "I believe these drinks are putting me to sleep instead of keeping me up, what 'bout you?" Rose asked with a sleepy grin.

He replied with a yawn and standing from the table, throwing a couple bills on the table. He was set to have a long day tomorrow so John knew staying up late with a pretty girl wasn't a good idea. Rose stood up as well, wrapping her arm around John's once again, leaning on his shoulder as they walked.

"What are you doing in Dartmoor, anyway?" Rose mumbled as they ascended the stairs.

"Oh you know, visiting tourist sites," John answered, heading towards the room that was suppose to have been his and Sherlock's.

"I can't see your friend being a good tourist," Rose chuckled, running a hand over her face and standing up properly. She gave John a wide, tongue-in-tooth smile, and John found himself almost wishing he did feel romantic feelings for this woman. He could see her fitting into his crazed life better than any other woman he'd met, but the feelings weren't there even as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him goodnight.

"Goodnight, Rose."

"G'night, John, thank you again, for the directions and the food." She patted his arm and was only half joking when she said. "Don't be bugging me with more dates though, so go on and delete my number." Rose offered another smile and wink, before unlocking her door and stepping inside.

John turned down the hall and headed back towards his room for the night, pulling out his phone and looking at his newest contact. He hovered over the delete button, before glancing over his shoulder and shoving his phone back in his pocket.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock and John set out early the next morning to get a look around Dartmoor, taking in the beautiful landscape, as well as locating Baskerville and Dewer's Hollow. After seeing the minefield surrounding Baskerville, they headed back to Cross Keys Inn to return Rose's key and search for a new room. While John went looking for the blonde woman he met the night before, Sherlock took another look around the Inn to locate any clues to help his case.

The shriek of a woman getting spooked by the tour guide followed both men into the Inn. Once again, Sherlock let John handle the manager while he headed to the bar. It was obvious to Sherlock who was visiting Dartmoor and who was a resident, so he drifted towards the residents, hoping to find more about them than an affair or pay raise. When he saw nothing promising, Sherlock glanced up to where John was still standing with the blonde.

The woman was helping John look for another available room with better sleeping arrangements. She wasn't traveling with anybody and she said she was assuming she would only be there for the weekend, indicating this was an unexpected visit planned by someone else. She couldn't have been older than 28 and if her boss could send her off with short notice and against her will as her tone suggested, she couldn't have been ranked high. Her clothes lended to military, but not field work as she was in well worn heels and her hair didn't have the signs of being pulled up regularly as was required for women in the field. Someone here to visit Baskerville as well.

"Explosives?" John was asking the bartender acting as manager.

"Oh, not just explosives. Break into that place and - if you're lucky - you just get blown up, so they say . . . in case you're planning on a nice wee stroll." Sherlock watched the blonde take a mental note of everything John and the bartender were discussing. He started walking towards them to ensure it wasn't John she was taking note of while the bartender discussed how the business boomed with tourists after Mr. Knight got on the documentary.

"Ever seen it - the hound?" John asked.

"Me? No." The bartender pointed towards a man in the doorway, effectively pulling Sherlock's attention away from the seemingly ever-present blonde. "Fletcher has. He runs the walks - the Monster Walks for the tourists, you know? He's seen it." With that, Sherlock followed Fletcher as he walks away, leaving John to deal with the talkative bartender, missing his chance to speak with the curious blonde.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Excuse me, what hound?" Rose asked stepping around John to get a better view of the bartender. John looked surprised at the question, but the bartender lit up at the opportunity to tell the story, and since he still didn't have his key, John sat through the story once more, this time observing the reaction of the pretty blonde next to him. She reacted as anyone would to hearing about a boy seeing his father brutally killed, but she seemed more interested in the description of the animal than anything else.

"It was on four legs though? Not up on it hind legs?" She asked.

"No, ma'am, there aren't any bears in our woods." Rose nodded though that hadn't been her question. Gary went behind the bar to retrieve John's new keys while Rose looked at John curiously.

"So that's the tourist sites you're visiting?" She questioned with a teasing smile.

John reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "Er... yes?" Rose laughed and shook her head, not seeming to mind he wasn't being completely truthful. "What about you?"

"Just work," Rose replied with a shrug, watching Gary return with the keys. "I'll see you later, yeah? I'm gonna grab some chips before heading out." John nodded and watched her walk out the door, spotting Sherlock at one of the benches outside as well, but he was distracted from following when Gary and Billy returned.

o0o0o0o0o

Rose left John at the bar after picking up a basket of chips, heading outside to take in some sun and the beauty of the area. She was hoping to wrap up whatever job Mycroft had for her quickly enough to have time to explore the area for this mysterious hound, it didn't sound alien but maybe that was what Mycroft needed her to investigate.

She shook that thought away. No, Mycroft would tell her if she was hunting down an unknown alien. They had their fights, often, but she knew he was a worrier and wouldn't send her into potential trouble unprepared. So far, it seemed as though Mycroft really did want her to look into Baskerville. She had an appointment with Major Barrymore within the hour, but with how small Dartmoor is she wasn't worried about taking a moment to observe the Inn's grounds and surroundings in case she attracted trouble.

Once she took a seat outside, she noticed it was only her and two other men out there, and the two of them looked like they were on the verge of an argument. She watched them for a minute, but looked away when the dark-haired man with a long coat caught her eye, recognizing him as John's temperamental friend. Once she was faced away, she focused on listening to the conversation, noting it was once again about the famous demon-animal Dartmoor was apparently famous for in this universe. After a moment though, the conversation ended abruptly and Rose heard footsteps approaching her.

"Sherlock, I called Henry -" Rose heard John say, presumably walking out of the bar to his friend, and suddenly the pieces clicked together. John. Sherlock. Bloody hell Mycroft.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock looked up, feeling eyes watching him, and caught the stare of John's blonde friend, who turned away upon being caught staring. He watched her for a moment, loosing interest in Fletcher, and saw how she left her food alone, indicating she was tuned into his conversation.

He figured their mutual friend would be enough to allow him to take a seat with her and engage in conversation, and even if it wasn't he still would do it. So Sherlock, stood up and abandoned his table and conversation and made his way towards Ms. Tyler just as John was walking out of the bar.

"Sherlock," John called. "I called Henry-" Sherlock cut him off before he could reveal too much information. Sherlock also noticed Ms. Tyler go stiff at his name, she turned around and stared at John and Sherlock as though their faces had just registered.

"Yes, of course." Sherlock strode past John and took a seat in front of a grinning Rose. "Hello."

"Hi," Ms. Tyler grinned. "You're Sherlock Holmes."

"An obvious deduction, but yes, and you are?"

"Rose Tyler, pleased to meet you," She offered her hand but he ignored it, but, unfazed, she offered it to John who pleasantly shook it with a return smile. "Now John, you can't just spend an evening with a girl and not bring up that you're _the_ Doctor John Watson. There I was rambling about nonsense while I had a celebrity in front of me." John blushed slightly at the compliment while Sherlock scoffed, causing both to give him an unimpressed look.

"Next time, I'll be sure to include that in the introduction," John said. Sherlock was beginning to feel ignored.

"I've read nearly all your blog entries, their simply fantastic stories," Ms. Tyler gushed, releasing his hand and indicating he sit down next to her instead of Sherlock. He took the offered seat, Sherlock noticing Ms. Tyler had succeeded in singling him out where he had meant to single her out.

"They're not stories." Both men spoke at the same time, John rolling his eyes at Sherlock's tone.

"Well of course they're not fictional, but stories they most certainly are," Ms. Tyler refuted Sherlock, then turned back to John who looked completely amused by the woman in front of him. "Are you on a case right now? You're investigating the hound, yeah?" She paused for a reply, but then her eyes lit up with amusement and she gave both boys a stunning smile. "Oh my god, it's Baskerville! Ha! It's The Hound of Baskerville! That's bloody brilliant." She was nearly bouncing in her seat but noticed Sherlock's unamused look and settled down, still sporting a stunning smile that had John grinning down at her. "Sorry, big fan, me."

"Yes," Sherlock drawled. "And what are you doing in Dartmoor? This is obviously your first visit here, and not willingly either. Your boss asked you to come here on short notice, and from your attire and hair you're working with the military, but not field work so you must be here to discuss research with Baskerville."

"Do ya always do that?" Ms. Tyler asked with a gentle smile.

"Reading people is a simple enough task, if one chooses to pay attention to the obvious," Sherlock replied, leaning back and looking far too smug.

"I meant answer your own questions, but sure, if you want to go with your first impression of me you're free to." Ms. Tyler stood up from the table, fishing out her car keys while Sherlock leaned forward at the challenge in her voice.

"First impression or last, it does not matter, I always get it the same either way," Sherlock proclaimed, watching Ms. Tyler's smile turn into a smirk.

"Is that so? Well, Mr. Holmes lets hear your full first impression before I bid you ado, I am interested to hear what people see when they look my way."

Sherlock noticed John grow uncomfortable at Ms. Tyler's challenge but paid his friend no heed. While John may be worried about Sherlock upsetting his new friend, Sherlock had no qualms doing exactly that to this prideful, ordinary woman.

"Your accent tells me you grew up in South London, perhaps in the estates, but you don't live there now and haven't in several years, hence the softening of the accent. You've been in the workforce for as long as you've been able and at some point you came into a bit of money from the way you're able to speak as though you're from a higher status than you actually are. However, you no longer have as much money as before and rely heavily on your job, which is why you did as your boss told you to do despite this being a spur of the moment business trip, also indicating you have no one of importance you would have to inform of such a trip. As I've already said, you work for the government, most likely military since you're here visiting Baskerville, but you don't do field work from your choice of footwear and the way you style your hair. Instead you file paper work, though you wish you did more, thats why you try so hard to impress the boss. You use to be in a serious relationship, possible marriage or simply engagement by the markings on your finger, but you're not anymore and it ended badly for you not him. He lost feelings but you kept the rings and they're hanging from the necklace around your neck, one that you don't ever take off because you have a slight tan line around the area."

Sherlock sat back after his speech, and Ms. Tyler gave him an indulgent smile.

"Very nice, Mr. Holmes, except for a few things you're spot on."

"What things?" Sherlock demanded, sitting forward once again.

"Well for starters," Ms. Tyler pulled on the chain around her neck, revealing a key instead of a ring. Sherlock's eyes widened slightly in shock, but then he masked it over and scoffed.

"Key to his home then?"

"Key to my old one," Ms. Tyler corrected, both her and John chuckling over Sherlock's shocked expression. "I'm off now, you were right about Baskerville, I have an appointment there I best not be late to. Good luck on that case!" She called the last bit over her shoulder as she practically skipped away, Sherlock's piercing stare following her the whole way.


	3. Baskerville

Rose skipped away from John and Sherlock, turning and waving at John when she reached her jeep, catching sight of Sherlock's scowl slowly morphing into a interest and something that looked close to suspicion. She turned around and hopped into the driver seat, brushing off Sherlock's words that had hit too close to home and had picked at old and new scars. She knew his type and wouldn't let his need to boost his ego hurt hers.

Sherlock reminded Rose of someone she didn't like to be reminded of, of her first Doctor with his standoff-ness and hurting eyes she could get lost in. Rose didn't focus on those similarities though, that would be too dangerous, but the smugness that came with being a genius was always fun to poke at so Rose didn't let the encounter bother her. She did however pull out her phone and call up the other genius she knew.

"Ms. Tyler, everything alright in Dartmoor?" Mycroft droned in greeting.

"Mycroft, you have an arsenal of people in your pocket to do your bidding so please tell me you did not send me here to keep watch on your baby brother," Rose pled into the phone, looking back to the two men now in deep conversation. Sherlock looked up once more, watching her watch him. She grinned at him and waved her fingers, before pulling out and driving away.

"I was informed by one of those people a Mr. Henry Knight approached him yesterday morning. While my brother believes he is more intelligent than I, I'm well aware he took one of my ID's months ago and believe he will use it to get into Baskerville. Your job is not to babysit him, it is to distract him by any means necessary, simply-"

"Mycroft Holmes!" Rose snapped into the phone, a smile hidden from Mycroft. "I will not be seducing your brother!"

Cue deep sigh number one. "Ms. Tyler, I hope you know I would never ask such a thing. As you know, my brother is the only person capable of seeing past my cover stories hiding certain things in the news. With research on extra-terrestrials located at Baskerville, it is of upmost importance that he does not come across that information during his case."

"Hence my job to distract," Rose clarified, looking out at the minefield she was passing. "So I'm not giving an official inspection of Baskerville."

"Major Barrymore is expecting you there as a guest, he would not take kindly to an inspection. However, if you feel the need to take note of anything or bring to my attention anything you have the ability to do so."

"So you've sent me to distract your brother while going on a secret inspection?" Rose drove through the gates of Baskerville and pulled up next to the guard house.

"If you choose to see it that way, then yes."

"Alright then, this should be fun." She hung up on Mycroft and smiled at the guard asking for identification. While the Doctor hated being saluted, and she did too, she never tired of watching them stand straighter when they realized she wasn't simply a blonde chick.

"Major Barrymore is waiting for you in his office," one of the guards answered when questioned. "Corporal Lyons will direct you there." Rose stepped out of the now parked jeep and looked at the young man saluting her.

"At ease," She said with a comforting smile. "I am sure Corporal Lyons has more important things to attend to then directing me to the Major. I can find my way myself, a short personal tour before dealing with boring meetings, if you will." The men looked uncomfortable with leaving her alone, but didn't speak out against it due to her rank. "Fine, Corporal Lyon, why don't we take a couple detours on the way to the Major?" Both men relaxed at the compromise, Corporal Lyon leading her away from her truck towards another one.

For a few minutes, Rose asked the Corporal to drive her around the outside of the base, observing the guards and outside testing. On their way back to the front of the facility, an urgent, worried voice came over the radio.

 _"Member of security to front gates. Mycroft Holmes is here for an inspection."_

"Corporal, you are a member of the security, are you not?" Rose asked the young man, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Reply back and say you will handle it then, Mycroft is a good friend of mine." Corporal Lyon did as he was ordered immediately, and the next second they turned a corner and Rose watched Sherlock and John approaching the front door. Corporal Lyon jumped out of the car, but Rose took her time.

"What is it? Are we in trouble?"

"Are we in trouble, _sir_?" Sherlock corrected sternly, fully immersed in his role as his brother, playing it well.

"Yes, sir, sorry, sir." Rose watched Corporal Lyon attempt to stop the two men from continuing to walk into the facility, he obviously didn't know who exactly Mycroft Holmes was because that maneuver would not have worked on the man she knew.

"You were expecting us?" Sherlock asked.

"Your ID showed up straight away, Mr. Holmes. Corporal Lyons, security. _Is_ there something wrong, sir?" With two visitors in one day, Rose wasn't surprised by how nervous the boy was.

"Well, I hope not, Corporal, I hope not."

"It's just we don't get inspected here, you see, sir. It just doesn't happen."

Rose, having heard enough and actually wanting the men to go through with their famous investigation, stepped out from behind the truck and walked forward.

"I believe that is enough, Corporal." Immediately, the boy stood to attention and saluted her, but it wasn't Lyon's reaction she was interested in watching. While John seemed relieved to see her and have an ally inside the facility, Sherlock looked even more upset upon spotting her. Rose wasn't use to geniuses not trusting her, considering the two she had met previously, the Doctor and Mycroft, both took her in with little questions asked. Yet Sherlock seemed determined to find fault in her, which only made her determined to hide those faults from him and poke at his.

"Mycroft, how wonderful to see you again. Who is it you've brought with you?" Rose didn't bother to tell the Corporal to relax this time, a bit of smugness in her wanting to show Sherlock what else he had wrong about her.

"Captain John Watson, Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers." John handed over his wallet he had been prepared to show the Corporal, both men watched to see if he would salute her, as was expected by someone of a lower rank, but she simply shook his hand, only speaking when she knew his hands were free, glancing to Sherlock with a sly grin.

"Brigadier Rose Tyler of UNIT," She said in way of greeting, pleased to watch the Doctor Watson stand to attention as well. Sherlock was staring with wide eyes as he realized he not only had been wrong about Rose's rank, but also her role played in the military considering Brigadier was the highest field officer rank. Before she could release the Corporal and doctor from their salute, Sherlock stopped her with one question out of many Rose was sure was brimming his mind.

"I've never heard of UNIT?"

"Still haven't." Rose winked at the curly haired man, feeling Mycroft had truly given her a gift if it was this easy to tease the famous detective. And a whole facility to torment? Rose was in heaven. "At ease." She finally said with a playful grin at Sherlock who definitely looked suspicious now. "Corporal, why don't we extend my tour and delay my meeting with the Major a little longer?"

"Ma'am, Major Barrymore won't be pleased, Ma'am. He'll want to see you immediately, as well as the inspectors."

"I'm afraid we won't have time for that. We'll need the full tour right away. Carry on." John said briskly, getting over his shock over Rose's rank faster than Sherlock was. When the Corporal glanced at Rose, she nodded.

"I believe that was an order, Corporal."

Corporal Lyon saluted them both. "Yes, Ma'am, Yes, Sir." Spinning around and walking towards the entrance.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock glanced at John with a proud smile, but dropped it when he saw Ms. Tyler still observing them. He returned her calculating gaze, but was thrown off by her stunning smile when she sees him observing her. Having been incorrect about three things about the woman, Sherlock was very interested to know who she was and how she was able to disguise her identity from him so effortlessly. There had only been one other person capable of doing that, and even The Woman had had to strip completely down to fool Sherlock and had been informed in advanced. Unless Ms. Tyler was there because Sherlock was there, she had no way of knowing she would have to hide information from him, so she did it effortlessly.

"Always fun pulling rank, yeah?" Ms. Tyler whispered to John as she fell in step between the two men. Sherlock wasn't sure if the placement was meant to separate them or she wanted the placement of power or she simply enjoyed being surrounded by people.

"Oh yeah," John agreed, sharing a smile with Ms. Tyler, again. Sherlock looked between the two suspiciously, John had assured him he wasn't interested in Ms. Tyler like that, spoke about kindred-souls, but he wasn't so sure. He had never seen a woman capable of putting John at ease so quickly and Sherlock knew it had to be female trickery like the Woman had done on him. Ms. Tyler wanted something from them, but Sherlock was determined she wouldn't win.

At the entrance, the Corporal scanned his pass, followed by Ms. Tyler, then Sherlock with Mycroft's pass. Sherlock checked his watch and chuckled while Corporal Lyon walked further in front of them.

"I'd say about twenty minutes before your brother finds out, if he hasn't already." Ms. Tyler told Sherlock with a conspiratorial grin. He almost grinned back, having been thinking pleasant thoughts of giving his brother hell, but caught it in time and narrowed his eyes instead.

"Indeed. And how long before Brigadier Rose Tyler discovers you?" Sherlock accused, causing Ms. Tyler to laugh.

"Is it that hard to believe a woman holds such a high rank?" Ms. Tyler asked with an arched brow.

"Only a young woman such as yourself."

"Believe me, Mr. Holmes, I am Rose Tyler and I most certainly have earned my rank in the British Military." Sherlock raised his own eyebrow at her tone, the words weren't said but he could detect a threat. Not to his wellbeing, but to his own experiences. She thought she had been through more and was telling him not to poke the bear.

 _Wolf_.

His brain corrected his thoughts instantly, as it did when he was making deductions without paying attention, but he didn't know how he reached that conclusion. It was true that sometimes the conclusion was so easy he simply couldn't put in words how he had reached it, similar to trying to explain 2+2=4, but this didn't seem like one of those cases. There were clues hidden on Brigadier Tyler that caused him to pick up on her being more like a wolf than a bear, but he didn't see them with his conscious mind.

Being required to swipe Mycroft's card again in order to get on to the lift brought him out of his thoughts and all three glanced at the screen when Sherlock swiped his card again. Brigadier Tyler chuckled when he was cleared and they all walk onto the elevator, Sherlock noticed the five floors located below them. He narrowed his eyes at the basement level, knowing having a basement floor in a facility that was all underground was an oddity.

The door closed after Lyons pressed the -1 button, opening shortly afterward to reveal a blazingly, white laboratory filled with the scientific staff who didn't bother looking up from their work when they walked in. However, when Sherlock walked past a wall of cages and one of the test monkey's screeches at him, several looked up as Brigadier Tyler started laughing at his expense, but looked back down quickly. John grinned at Brigadier Tyler's amusement at Sherlock's expense, while Sherlock was rather put out by it and turned away from both the screeching monkey's and laughing buffoons.


	4. Major Barrymore

"How many animals do you keep down here?" Sherlock asked, still using his Mycroft tone of voice.

"Lots sir." Motioning towards a beagle and the monkeys, while still trying to hurry the group along.

"And you follow general procedure for animal testing?" Rose asked from behind the men, having approached the crazed monkey who tried to attack Sherlock. She didn't face the men, but instead started mimicking the monkey's expression till it calmed down and reached a hand out to hold her finger. Only then did she turn around, taking in the shocked and impressed expressions of Corporal Lyon and Doctor John Watson, however when she observed Sherlock, she once again found his unreadable expression, but didn't let it deter her as she gave him a stellar smile.

"Of course, Ma'am."

"Yet you have lots of animals in testing? I seem to remember you are required to have the fewest number of animals needed." Rose pointed out, not pulling her finger away from the monkey as she went about playing with the other animals in the room. If she was doing Mycroft's bidding, she was determined to have fun doing it.

"We have many tests going on in Baskerville, Ma'am."

"Yes, that is true." Rose slowly released her finger from the monkey's hold, taking a moment to observe its cage. "And this is where this poor boy lives?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Corporal Lyon replied hesitantly this time, knowing to which procedure she was referring to now and the lack of compliance to it.

Rose turned her back on the cage of monkeys, facing the three men in front of her and clasping her hands behind her back and straightening her shoulders to get to her full height. It was an obvious maneuver that she knew John and Lyon picked up on, knew they failed to notice the flicker of amusement in her hazel eyes. With a glance to Sherlock, she noticed he was once again trying not to allow his lips to quirk upwards, indicating he did notice her humor.

"Animals are expected to be kept in the best possible living conditions with a veterinarian on site and undue stress is to be avoided, and yet Mickey and his friends here seem rather stressed. I do believe Mycroft and Captain Watson will be adding that fact to their inspection, will you not?" Rose turned away from the pale Corporal to the two detectives.

"We will indeed, Brigadier Tyler." Sherlock said, turning away and continuing his conversation with Lyon.

John fell into step next to Rose, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "Mickey?"

"The monkey," She answered with a tongue-in-tooth smile that had John's stress of breaking into a dangerous military facility easing from his shoulders.

"Ah, and you are?" A scientist approached the group, glancing over Rose and John and settling on Sherlock as the head of the group. Corporal Lyon introduced the man, Doctor Frankland, and explained that they were on somewhat of a tour. "Ah, new faces, huh? Nice. Careful you don't get stuck here, though. I only came to fix a tap!" John and Rose give polite smiles at the cheesy scientist as he walked by.

"How far down does that lift go?" John asked, once again falling into step beside Rose, who was observing Lyons carefully.

"Quite a way, sir."

John hummed. "And what's down there?"

Rose knew he was referring to what was in the Basement, both men having looked curious at the B-level in the elevator, of course she knew it wasn't actually a basement. The B didn't stand for Basement in Baskerville, but Astrobiology. The basement was a cover for most of the staff, Rose didn't think Corporal Lyons knew that fact either.

At Lyon's grin Rose relaxed and focused on Sherlock who was still watching the scientist. "Well, we have to keep the bins somewhere, sir. This way please." Lyon led John away, Rose now falling into step beside Sherlock who walked a few paces backwards before turning around properly and glancing at his walking companion.

"What did you say you were at Baskerville for, Ms. Tyler?" Sherlock inquired.

"I believe I said appointment?" Rose replied, allowing the taller man to hold the door open for her.

"What for?"

"So many questions for the master of deductions." Rose offered him a teasing grin to soften the blow, but with an ego such as his it was doomed to be overly sensitive.

"So what exactly is it that you do here?" John asked, watching Sherlock give Rose an unimpressed look before walking further into the room looking at the various scientists.

"I thought you'd know, sir, this being an inspection." Corporal Lyon asked only slightly suspicious, allowing Rose to ease into the conversation

"An inspection includes more than examining how well the scientists are behaving, Corporal, but also whether or not the men and women protecting Baskerville understand what it is being done here. Now please ensure you answer all of Captain Watson's questions." Rose gave Corporal Lyon a stern look, causing him to salute her and immediately give John a proper answer.

Lyon led them into another laboratory where a monkey was once again caged, while two scientists ignored the stressed animal in favor of discussing the results of most recent testing. Corporal Lyon led them over to the scientists, Rose recognized the woman from the file Mycroft sent over as one of the few scientists that was given the chance to work with the extra-terrestrials, so she moved in front of John and Sherlock for the first time to guide the conversation, hoping Sherlock wouldn't notice and grow more wary of her or interested in the scientist.

"Doctor Stapleton," Corporal Lyon called, Sherlock muttered the name under his breath and Rose internally winced at the obvious interest already present.

"Yes?" The scientist glanced at Sherlock, John and Rose, settling on the boys like everyone seemed to be doing. Rose wasn't sure if she was going to stay amused at this or use it to her advantage. "Who's this?"

"This is Brigadier Rose Tyler, and these men are Priority Ultra, ma'am. Orders from on high. An inspection."

Mrs. Stapleton chuckled slightly, "Oh, really? And, Brigadier Tyler, are you part of this inspection?" Rose knew the woman recognized the name, anyone that worked with aliens knew Rose was Director of UNIT, but she didn't recognize Sherlock and John and was smart enough to determine how much the men knew before revealing anything of importance.

"I am now, though my original purpose for coming here was a scheduled meeting with Major Barrymore that I have since postponed for more entertaining activities." The scientist seemed skeptical, trying to read into Rose's words whether she had leave to speak about what was stored on the Astrobiology floor.

"We're to be accorded every courtesy, Doctor Stapleton. What's your role at Baskerville?" Sherlock sternly asked. However, the doctor snorted in disbelief.

John stepped in before his indignant friend could offend Doctor Stapleton. "Er, accorded _every_ courtesy, isn't that the idea?"

Doctor Stapleton looked between the three investigators, lingering a moment on each one to gauge what they were searching for and what they knew. However, when her eyes landed on the Brigadier, Rose gave a minuscular shake of the head and stared the woman down with all the authority she could muster through her eyes.

"I'm not free to say. Official secrets." Rose relaxed at the words, but Sherlock wouldn't let it slide now that he was interested in the woman and what she knew, so the curly haired man took a step towards the doctor and leaned in close with a smile.

"Oh, you most certainly are free..." His smile faded and Rose could finally see the similarities between Mycroft and Sherlock she had been searching for. "And I suggest you remain that way."

Luckily for Rose, Sherlock was only able to scare the woman into talking about her job in general terms, focusing on what the rest of the facility knew she did. Rose watched the conversation continue between Stapleton and Sherlock, no longer worried about the information being revealed by Stapleton. Rose was immensely impressed, not only by Sherlock's stellar memory, but his quick wit and observations could rival the Doctors. She had been thinking about the similarities between the two men since she met Sherlock that morning, with the observations, straight-forwardness, and how rude they both were, but while they were both self-centered men, the Doctor had always been selfless to a fault while Sherlock was a rather selfish man. Rose tried to refrain from comparing Sherlock to her doctors though, not needing the complication distracting her from this job.

"The _rabbit_?" John asked in a tone Rose recognized from her many years with the Doctor, the You-Were-Clever-But-Now-You're-Insane tone.

"Clearly an inside job," Sherlock was saying, while Rose tried to catch up with the conversation she had been ignoring.

"Oh, you reckon?" Doctor Stapleton snapped.

"Why? Because it glowed in the dark." Sherlock practically clicked the 'k,' and John looked like his eyes were going to roll out of his head by how hard he was rolling them.

"Did you say glowed in the dark?" Rose asked, anyone could detect the excitement in her tone and the group looked at her quizzically. At the sound of a text hitting her phone, Rose knew she wouldn't have time to ask proper questions with Doctor Stapleton just then, especially when she saw Sherlock check the time.

"Well, I think we've seen enough for now, Corporal. Thank you so much." Sherlock nodded to the Corporal, looked at Rose and John to indicate they were leaving, and then turned and headed briskly towards the door.

"That's it?" Lyon asked, dumbfounded in one place before Rose ushered him along.

"That's it." John and Rose step into place behind Sherlock. "It's this way isn't it?" Sherlock asked, glancing back to Rose, not Lyon, who nodded in the affirmative. When he turned back around, Rose discretely checked the message from Mycroft without John seeing.

" _All clear? -MH_ "

She typed back an affirmative while John interrogated Sherlock about his true reasoning for breaking into Baskerville. Sherlock ignored John, however, as they were required to scan their badges again, once they entered the main laboratory, Rose heard Sherlock receive a text.

"Twenty-three minutes. Mycroft's getting slow." Sherlock whispered to John, he caught Rose's smile and narrowed his eyes at her, but, when they reached the lift doors, they turned away from each other and noticed Doctor Frankland was still in the lift. With a smile and a wave, the doctor greeted them, again, causing Sherlock to direct his narrowed eyes at Frankland instead of Rose. No one spoke on the lift up, Rose pulled out her phone when her back was in the corner and Sherlock was busy looking at Frankland, and checked Mycroft's reply.

" _Don't let them arrest him -MH_ "

Rose rolled her eyes at the text, as if she would let any harm come to a Holmes brother, but replied all the same. When the door opens, Major Barrymore was approaching the group and appeared to be very unhappy with them.

"Er, um, Major..." Corporal Lyon began, glancing at Rose for help, but she only offered a comforting smile as she slipped to the back to the group to watch how it played out.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"This is bloody outrageous. Why wasn't I told?" Major Barrymore exclaimed, referring to the inspection the boys were on, though Sherlock supposed Brigadier Tyler postponing their meeting without informing the major had not helped his mood.

"Major Barrymore, is it?" John stepped out of the lift rather bravely and offered the Major his hand. "Yes, well. Very good. We're very impressed, aren't we, Mr Holmes?" When the Major refused to shake John's hand and John turned back to Sherlock with a murderous expression, Sherlock heard Ms. Tyler muffle a giggle into her palm, but it slipped out when they all heard his phone go off, indicating Mycroft texted again. Sherlock glanced at her suspiciously, and opened the text while he walked past Barrymore who went on about how special Baskerville is.

" _What's going on, Sherlock? -M_ "

"Inspections?" The Major bellowed when Sherlock walked past him.

"New Policy. Can't remain unmonitored forever. Goodness knows what you'd get up to." Sherlock glanced back at Brigadier Tyler, who had just been standing there but started walking toward him at his look, then Sherlock leaned down to whisper to John, "Keep walking."

For a moment, Sherlock thought he would pull it off, until Corporal Lyon rushed back in the room. "Sir!" Lyon exclaimed, slapping an alarm button on the wall. Alarms started to blare, red lights flashed and the security doors locked, stopping Sherlock and John and making everyone turn to the Corporal.

"ID unauthorized, sir."

"What?" Major Barrymore narrowed his eyes at the two men. "Is that right?"

"No, it's not." Brigadier Tyler spoke up, the Major finally settling his eyes on her. Sherlock smirked, watched Brigadier Tyler do the same, as they realized Major Barrymore had no idea who he was talking to.

"Excuse me?" Barrymore stepped up to Brigadier Tyler and tried to intimidate her by looking down his nose at her. "And what authority do you have to speak to me in such a way, girl?"

Behind him, John looked rather worried for Brigadier Tyler, but Sherlock was eager to see Brigadier Tyler react to an older man of authority attempt to put her in her place. He still wasn't convinced she was who she said he was, but her next actions proved him wrong. Again.

"Brigadier Tyler, and it is ma'am, Major, I expect you to remember that," Brigadier Tyler chided, pulling out her credentials and handing it to Major Barrymore. Immediately, the older man saluted Brigadier Tyler, schooling his annoyed expression to a passive one. "At ease."

The man began to scowl once he was finished with his salute, but with a stern look from Brigadier Tyler, he schooled his face properly. "I am not sure what is going on with your computers, Major, but there has been an error." Rose spoke in a way that left no room for argument, however her lip did quirk up when behind her, John took out a notebook.

"Computer error," John shook his head. "It'll all have to go in the report."

Sherlock noticed the Major seemed ready to explode at the two of them but was reeling it in as Brigadier Tyler continued to stare the older man down with an amount of authority he had seen in very few people, and fewer people he got along with. Behind the Major, Sherlock watched Doctor Frankland slowly walk toward the group, staring back at Sherlock, until suddenly, the man grinned.

"It's all right, Major. I know exactly who these gentleman are," The doctor exclaimed, joining the group and smiling at the scowling Major who was finally released from Brigadier Tyler's hold on him when she turned suspiciously to the scientist. Frankland payed the woman no mind as he faced Sherlock, however while Sherlock expected a woman of such power to be rightly insulted by such insubordination, he watched as Brigadier Tyler took a step back and seemed content to stay in the outskirts of the conversation now that her help was not directly needed.

"You do?" The Major asked, glancing accusingly at Brigadier Tyler, who raised a sculpted eyebrow till he looked down.

"Yeah. I'm getting a little slow on faces but Mr. Holmes here in't someone I expected to show up in this place." Frankland grinned at Sherlock, who took his eyes off Brigadier Tyler to observe the man in front of him, noting the relaxed stance and too easy smile. "Good to see you again, Mycroft."

Sherlock gave a false smile while John moved next to Brigadier Tyler, relaxing against the wall like she was now that the imminent danger was over with. Sherlock watched the new friends grin at one another, then forcibly removed his attention away from Brigadier Tyler again.

"I had the honor of meeting Mr. Holmes at the W.H.O. conference in.. Brussels, was it?"

"Vienna," Sherlock supplied with ease and confidence, looking toward Major Barrymore once again.

"Vienna, that's it. This is Mr. Mycroft Homes, Major. There's obviously been a mistake." Doctor Frankland promised. Barrymore turned away and nodded to Corporal Lyons, who retreated to switch the alarm off. After the lights stopped flashing and the alarm fell silent and the entrance door's reopen, the Major turned and looked between Doctor Frankland and Brigadier Tyler.

"On your head."

"On your head, _Ma'am,_ " Brigadier Tyler corrected, smirking at the angered Major. "I shall walk Mycroft and the Captain out, then I believe we have a lot to discuss about Baskerville, Major. This inspection the boys were on has been enlightening." With that, Brigadier Tyler spun on her heel and walked out of the facility. Sherlock felt John glance at him, and saw him smirk but ignored his friend as he continued to watch Ms. Tyler walk away with less suspicion but more interest than when they had walked into the building.

"I'll show them out, Corporal," Doctor Frankland said, Sherlock following Ms. Tyler's lead already and walking toward the open entrance door. John hesitated a moment, looking at the Barrymore's scowling face, but caught up with Ms. Tyler and Sherlock quickly.

"Thank you," Sherlock said with a nod to Ms. Tyler, whose accompanying smile almost had one gracing Sherlock's lips as well. However, before Ms. Tyler could reply to his rare statement of gratitude, the doctor stepped in.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"This is about Henry Knight, isn't it?"

The group looked at him, while John had been amused and grateful for the doctor in the compound, he observed his friend and their actual savior of the day, and saw how both of their stances indicated distrust for the doctor. John may have not been as skilled in the art of deduction as Sherlock was, but during his years in the army he learned to easily recognize who trusted who.

"I thought so," Frankland said, taking their silence as an answer. "I knew he wanted help but I didn't realize he was going to contact Sherlock Holmes! I thought you'd be wearing the hat, though." Rose and John snickered together when Sherlock grimaced.

"That wasn't my hat."

Frankland turned to John. "I hardly recognize him without the hat!" John unsuccessfully bit back a smile, however at the look on Sherlock's face, Rose didn't hold back as she howled with laughter. Frankland looked at her curiously, John chuckled a bit but Sherlock scowled even deeper at being laughed at.

"So you must be John Watson, but I didn't think the Major would fall for a girl this young being a Brigadier," Frankland said, in a way that could come off as compliment for a sneak or an insult for a woman like Rose. John stepped forward and opened his mouth to correct the doctor, rather angrily too, but Rose must have seen him get ready to defend her because she placed a calmly hand on his shoulder and lightly pulled him back next to her. However, neither expected the needed to rein Sherlock in as well.

"I believe you need to apologize, doctor," Sherlock sneered with an amount of distaste John thought was reserved only for Anderson and Donovan. "Ms. Tyler here was the one that helped us get in and out of Baskerville, is our friend, and is most definitely higher ranked than you will be."

The group stared at Sherlock for a beat, John feeling rather proud to be friends with this man for once. With a glance at the doctor, he saw Frankland was properly chastised. Rose however was wearing an unreadable expression for once. John had found her to be a rather open person, if a little tight lipped about herself, but the mask she adorned now clearly kept her thoughts and feelings locked away from everybody and perhaps herself as well. He didn't wonder what she was feeling, but he did wonder why she chose now to close herself off.

"Brigadier Tyler, please accept the sincere apology from a rather humble and silly old man," Frankland pled, looking at Sherlock for approval while Rose rolled her eyes when the doctor wasn't looking. Sherlock was still glaring.

"No worries," Rose stated, now placing her hand on Sherlocks shoulder to calm him down.

"You know Henry Knight?" Sherlock asked, now back on track as Rose extracted her hand and took a step away from Sherlock and next to John.

"Well, I knew his dad better. He had all sorts of mad theories about this place. Still, he was a good friend." John watched the scientist look away from them when he said that, finding the sight of Major Barrymore as something to distract his eyes for the moment until he turned back to Sherlock. "Listen, I can't really talk now," He said, pulling out his card and passing it over. "Here's my cell number. If I could help with Henry, give me a call."

Sherlock took the card and put it into his pocket. "I never did ask, Doctor Frankland. What exactly is it that you do here?"

Doctor Frankland gave a smile that lended itself heavily to a smirk. "Oh, Mr Holmes, I would love to tell you - but then, of course, I'd have to kill you!" The man laughed even though no one else in the group did. While Sherlock wore his usual unamused expression, John saw Rose raise an unimpressed eyebrow and glanced over the man.

"That would be tremendously ambitious of you," Sherlock stated, and while Frankland's smile faded and a slight blush climbed up his neck, John was no longer surprised when Rose gave a chuckle. Sherlock glanced down at Rose, and this time, John was surprised enough to take a startled step back when he saw the detective smile down at the blonde. "I'll be in touch." Sherlock said, raising the card Frankland gave him without taking his eyes off Rose till John cleared his throat and Rose turned away from Sherlock.

"Anytime," Frankland offered, walking back to work.

The three of them stood there for a moment watching the doctor's retreating back and looking around the facility. John was the first to stop the observations of his surroundings, deciding instead to observe his companions. Rose just became more interesting the longer he knew her, and knew it was because of that that she had caught Sherlock's interest. John wasn't sure yet if that was good or bad, he felt sure in thinking Rose was a good person, but Sherlock's assessment of people could be bias depending on what he thought they wanted from him. John just hoped he wouldn't push Rose too far away that she wouldn't be up to getting drinks on the days John needed to get away from Sherlock.

"Well, better not keep the Major waiting any longer or I'm in for a much longer meeting than I planned for," Rose said, grinning at both men. "I'll see you both later, yeah? Maybe if you finish this case quickly we'll find something to eat at the Inn." She sent John another wink and a cheeky grin to Sherlock, before turning and walking with her chin held high back into the compound.

"She is something," John said, because he believed it and also because he wanted to Sherlock's reaction.

"Indeed." John decided to let it go for now, walking in the opposite direction of Rose back to their car.

"So?"

"So?"

"What was all that about the rabbit?" Sherlock smiled a bit and started to tug at his coat and flip the collar up as they reached the car. John rolled his eyes at the sight and groaned. "Oh, please, can we not do this, this time?"

o0o0o0o0o0o0

While Rose would have loved to join Sherlock Holmes on his most famous case, she thought Baskerville might actually need a proper inspection with a loud mouth girl from the estates to get things done. Besides, if she was going to get back at Mycroft for making her the babysitter, she'd have to do it by finding a way to make him do some leg work and get his arse to Dartmoor. She was certain she could come up with enough problems in the Military Base to warrant a visit from Mycroft Holmes.

She glanced back only once when she walked away from the boys, and locked eyes with Sherlock while John's back was turned. His thick eyebrows were furrowed at her, and from this distance she couldn't detect the suspicion she knew was there at least a little, but she recognized the curiosity their. Rose didn't bother smiling back at him, she just turned around and tried to shrug off the feeling those piercing eyes gave her. She had yet to decide what color they were.

Major Barrymore was still waiting by the lift, and when he saw her he saluted but still was scowling so she took her time to reach him and put him at ease. Rose was unimpressed with everything she had seen so far, except the defenses and dedication to research.

"Major Barrymore, I believe we have a meeting scheduled, yeah?"

"I believe it was scheduled a hour ago, Ms. Tyler," The Major sneered, motioning for Corporal Lyon to leave.

"And I believe it is Brigadier Tyler to you, Barrymore," Rose snarled, feeling the need to put the man in his place. She wasn't lying when she told Sherlock she earned her title and while she wasn't the kind of person to have people salute her everywhere she went, she was a rather humble person, but would not put up with insubordination. And if there was one thing she had learned from Mycroft, it was how to put people in there places.

Having looked over the layout of the facility last night at the Inn and located the Major's office first, Rose took charge of the situation and walked in front of the Major to assert dominance. Once they reached the room, Rose turned around and leaned against the Major's desk, leaving the Major a choice between standing or sitting in his own guest chairs. He chose the former with a deep scowl and crossed his arm.

"Is there anything you want to admit to before we start?" Rose asked, immersing into her Director of UNIT role.

"Such as?" Barrymore droned.

"Such as anything the British Military and UNIT does not approve of. This may not be an inspection, Barrymore, but if I find something I do not like, understand I have the power to replace everyone in the compound with people more suitable to the job. Starting with you."

Major Barrymore wasn't as obvious about it as visibly gulping, but his unease hung in the air. Rose held in her smirk to keep her persona intact. The man in front of her was stubborn so he didn't reveal any of his discomfort, but Rose felt it all the same.

"No, Brigadier Tyler, nothing I can think of," his accompanying smile let Rose know he was completely willing to let her go around all the compound looking for what she wants instead of just giving it to her.

"Very well, I believe I need the full tour now, no interruptions this time." Rose stood up from the table and motioned for the Major to head out but he stayed where he was.

"The full tour will have to wait till tomorrow, Brigadier Tyler, unless you have your full credentials with you?" Barrymore couldn't hold in his smirk this time when Rose narrowed her eyes.

"The fifty page credential paperwork?"

Rose knew exactly where her credentials were, filed in the back of Mycroft's office, probably with spiderwebs on it. She'd never had to use her credentials, before people knew her name in the Extra-Terrestrial society, she always had Mycroft behind her telling people to either let her in or give their cases over for her to handle. She'd made enough of a name for herself in the underground society of those who know about aliens that she no longer needed Mycroft's support, so for Barrymore to ask for her full credentials really made her angry. She didn't let it show though, she saved her full anger for special situations.

"The very same."

"Alright, Barrymore, I'll have someone send that down right away," Rose said pulling out her phone to call Mycroft. For the first time, Rose was left listening to Mycroft's generic voicemail. It wasn't part of their deal that he always answer her call, but he always did. Mycroft knew Rose only had Mycroft, both in her phone and in this universe. He wasn't privy to her past, but understood she was alone and he was the only one she could seek out for help in an emergency.

As she called, Major Barrymore received a call as well so Rose moved away from his desk and leaned against the guest chairs waiting for Mycroft to pick up.

"Major Barrymore, whose speaking?"

Rose hung up, beginning to worry something was wrong with Mycroft.

"Mycroft Holmes, is that so?" Barrymore turned to Rose, tilted his head and smirked. "Here I thought you were here today? Brigadier Tyler here said you were, in fact-" Mycroft must have interrupted him because the Major broke off and looked away from Rose, his smirk turning to a frown. "Yes, sir, of course." He pulled the phone away from his ear and shoved it towards Rose, "he wants to speak to you."

Rose grinned and snatched the phone, moving around the Major and plopping into his chair. "Hello, Mycroft, I just got done listening to your voicemail."  
"You were calling me? Is everything alright? That hound business hasn't gotten dangerous, has it?" Mycroft asked, not in a rushed manner because he was too proper for that, but Rose could feel his concern for her wellbeing and was quick to correct him.

"I'm alright, Mycroft, so is your brother." At her words she watched Barrymore narrow his eyes but she narrowed hers back and he had to look away. "I was simply calling because I need you to send someone down with my full credentials immediately, or else I'm not allowed the full tour of Baskerville."

"Well, I'll have that sent-"

"Oh, yes I know it's ridiculous, Mycroft." Rose said, cutting her eyes to the Major.

"Ms. Tyler, please don't start with this."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Rose exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the desk and watching the Major jump. "UNIT could take over and-"

"You hardly have enough people for that, Ms. Tyler."

"-this place will improve so quickly."

Mycroft gave his first deep sigh of the conversation, so Rose knew she was amusing him, not that he would ever admit it. Rose knew Mycroft preferred her company, if he preferred anyones company, but he was incapable and unwilling to express that in words so it was typically shown through indulging her odd sense of humor.

"Ms. Tyler, I implore you to stop torturing Major Barrymore, he has his uses where he is now. It is no trouble to send your credentials, they'll be there by morning."

"Oh don't make Emma ride down here through the night!" Rose exclaimed, breaking her act and leaning forward, ignoring Barrymore who was relaxing now that she wasn't discussing his job. "You run the poor girl all around town for the silliest things."

"Ms. Bell is a rather laid back woman, Ms. Tyler, riding around while she is on her phone is hardly taxing," Mycroft defended.

He had gone through five secretaries before settling on Emma, and had only settled because she was the only one that didn't talk. Rose didn't have any sort of relationship with Emma, she didn't think anyone did which made her wonder what she was doing on her phone, but she wouldn't have anyone driving through the night simply because the man in front of her was stubborn.

"No, send her in the morning, you can go half a day without her and just imagine how precise your calendar will be after she has been in the car all day."

"As you wish, Ms. Tyler. She'll be there by lunch."

Rose nodded to the Major, who relaxed almost too much for Rose so she adorned a smirk, leaned further back in his chair. "Now, Mycroft, why were you calling."

"If I know Sherlock, and of course I know him better than he does, he didn't use his time properly in Baskerville and will be calling me tonight or tomorrow morning to get back into Baskerville. I'm rather busy later today and have meetings all day tomorrow so I'm requesting his access now, not full of course but thats what you're there for. He isn't to know he doesn't have full access." Mycroft explained, sounding all high and mighty to be the smarter Holmes brother, but all Rose heard was his obvious concern for his brother.

"I'll inform the Major then, yeah? He'll be thrilled." Rose winked at the Major.

"Do you think Sherlock will be much longer? There is a possibility of you needing to be in Cardiff Wednesday." Mycroft informed her. She held in a groan, knowing she wasn't likely to be back in London for at least another week, but if she was needed then she had no choice.

"Your brother is rather smart, he'll be done before the weekend is over with. Even if he isn't, just withdraw his access to Baskerville after I leave," Rose offered her advice.

"Alright, Ms. Tyler, I will see you when you return to London."

"Bye, Mycroft." Rose hung up the mobile and gave a wolfish grin to the Major. "Mycroft just told me his brother, Sherlock Holmes, will be with us tomorrow. He's to think he has full access, but of course he will only have full access to Earth Bound information."

Major Barrymore couldn't hold in his eye roll at this, but coughed to cover his scoff. Rose stood up quickly, pushing the Major's chair back so it hit the wall with a loud bang, that then made the Major stand up quickly as well. He looked a beat away from saluting her, so Rose decided to ease up on the torture.

"Let's get started on my tour, we can save the aliens for after lunch tomorrow."


	5. Goldfishes

Sherlock sat alone, his shaky hands pressed together in front of his face and his eyes staring unseeingly into the fire. He kept playing over and over the events of the night, the shock from seeing the beast still making his heart beat erratically but the disbelief was clear in his eyes if any of the other patrons in the room were to glance his way.

He had seen the beast. He knew he did. But he also knew it wasn't there. It was a gigantic hound just as Henry had described, but Sherlock couldn't believe it, meaning he wasn't believing his own eyes, his own senses. If he couldn't trust himself, couldn't think clearly and be above the goldfish, he wasn't even Sherlock Holmes.

"Mind if I sit with ya? I brought drinks." The cockney voice of Rose Tyler pulled him out of his dangerous thoughts. He looked up at the elusive blonde, remembering he had been wrong about his deductions for her as well. A beast was one thing, but a woman? He wouldn't allow another woman to best him, not after The Woman.

"Who are you?" Sherlock demanded, observing every muscle movement as Ms. Tyler sat on his left side, his shade falling on her. She was at ease now, but when he looked up at her he saw residual stress from her day in Baskerville.

"Brigadier Rose Tyler, Director of UNIT," Ms. Tyler said her title with pride, but she gave Sherlock a wide grin when she declared her sector of the British Military, knowing he had no idea what it was. Taunting him with her secrets.

"Who do you work for?" Sherlock continued with his line of questioning, forcing pieces into place in his mind to create the picture of Rose Tyler. He was sure he had her this time, so sure his hands had finally stopped shaking.

"Did you not hear my title? I am the Director of UNIT, no one has the authority to tell me what to do, 'cept for the Queen, God save her." Ms. Tyler reached forward and took a sip of her wine, Sherlock's brandy still untouched.

"No, you were told to come to Baskerville from someone outside of UNIT." Sherlock leaned forward and watched Ms. Tyler, seeing her eyebrow flick up for a second, not a flinch but a sign of interest to see where he was headed with his deductions. "You were on field work somewhere else, got pulled off the case and informed you were coming to Dartmoor instead of back to London. Now who would be able to tell a Brigadier what to do?"

"You tell me," Ms. Tyler said, leaning forward as well, her smile making Sherlock hesitate only a moment. He knew he was right, usually criminals don't smile before being caught, but The Woman had smiled through almost all of his deductions and Rose Tyler was no different from her.

"Moriarty," Sherlock said the name slowly, watching as the name registered in Ms. Tyler's mind, and caused no reaction.

"The criminal?" She asked, seeming to venture a guess.

"He sent you here to distract me from the case, or, more likely, to watch me. Play with me if you will. That's why you helped us in Baskerville and why you could keep so much information hidden from me. What are you, his spy in the military?" Sherlock spoke quickly, continuing to lean forward to find the signs of distress, but only picked up on increasing humor.

"Sherlock," Ms. Tyler said slowly, laying her hand on his forearm. "Contrary to every genius in the multi-universe's belief, not everything revolves around you." Sherlock wrenched his arm out of her grip. "Why is it so important to you that I'm the bad guy?"

"Because you're not ordinary!" Sherlock exclaimed. "You hid nearly everything from me in our first meeting, coming off as a goldfish, but you're not a goldfish at all. And now, you didn't even know I was going to be here so you didn't put effort into hiding yourself, you're just that bloody good!" Sherlock leaned back in his chair, his hands shaking once again while he picked up the brandy and took a gulp of it.

Ms. Tyler smiled a bit, placing her hand on his arm again. "I believe that was a compliment, yeah? Thank you." She offered her most dazzling smile to put the detective at ease, but he just shrugged her off again and returned to staring into the fire.

Sherlock felt it when Ms. Tyler realized something was wrong with him, when her humorous demeanor changed to concern. Immediately, she grasped his arm once again, tighter than before so he would have had to use strength he didn't have at the moment to tear her grip away. Her hazel eyes bore into the side of his face but he refused to meet them, lifting his hands to his lips once again and trying to find peace in his mind palace.

"Sherlock, what happened?" Ms. Tyler whispered, her thumb rubbing back and forth against his bicep, causing him to actually want to divulge all of the details to her and have her give her honest opinion. He needed a non-goldfish to understand he was doubting himself and how dangerous it was when he did that.

"I-" Sherlock swallowed and wrenched his gaze away from the fire and to Ms. Tyler. "I'm doubting myself." Sherlock whispered, waiting for a smile or an eyebrow raise or even a joke about his ego, but instead Ms. Tyler just tightened her grip momentarily and waited for him to continue.

"Well," John appeared out of nowhere, and Sherlock looked away from Ms. Tyler. "He is in a pretty bad way. He's manic, totally convinced there's some mutant super-dog roaming the moors."

Sherlock glanced at John, then turned back to the fire, not daring to see Ms. Tyler's reaction when she realized why he was so frightened. "And there isn't though, is there? 'Cause if people knew how to make a mutant super-dog, we'd know." Sherlock clasped his fingers together and closed his eyes with a deep breath, feeling Ms. Tyler begin to rub her finger against his skin once again. "They'd be for sale. I mean that's how it works."

He noticed Ms. Tyler for the first time and nodded to her in greeting. Sherlock looked over and watched her give a small smile in way of hello, then she glanced up at Sherlock again and caught his gaze with clear concern in her eyes. How he could have thought she worked with a man like Moriarty, he had no idea. Once again he was wrong.

"Er, listen," John called Sherlock's attention again, not taking notice to Sherlock's clear signs of distress that any goldfish looking could see. "On the moor I saw someone signaling. Morse - I guess it's Morse." John looked down at his notes and didn't see Sherlock blink rapidly. "Doesn't seem to make much sense." Sherlock takes a deep breath. " A. Does that mean anything?" John still hadn't glanced up from his notes yet and Sherlock's hands were growing more shaky by the second.

"John..." Ms. Tyler called hesitantly. The doctor finally looked up and seemed to realize how distressed Sherlock was, but with a shake of his head Sherlock realized he dismissed the idea because he had so much confidence in Sherlock's sanity that was now wavering quite a bit.

"So, okay, what have we got? We know there's footprints, 'cause Henry found them; so did the tour guide bloke. We all heard something." Sherlock takes another shaky breath and John frowns. "Maybe we should just look for whoever's got a big dog."

"Henry's right." Sherlock declared.

"What?" John questioned, glancing at Ms. Tyler who shook her head.

"I saw it too."

"What?" John repeated, shocked and missing Ms. Tyler's glare she shot his way.

"I saw it too, John."

"Just... just a minute." John sat forward. "You saw what?"

Sherlock met his gaze, but his face was twisted with self-loathing as he forced himself to admit the truth. Next to him, Ms. Tyler released his arm and leaned back, watching quietly but her presence still there. "A hound, out there in the Hollow." Sherlock grit his teeth and spoke through them. "A gigantic hound." John chuckled like it was a joke and Ms. Tyler winced when Sherlock began blinking rapidly again.

"Um, look, Sherlock, we have to be rational about this, okay? Now you, of all people, can't just. ." Ms. Tyler winced again at John's choice of words as Sherlock blew out another breath. "Let's just stick to what we know, yes? Stick to the facts." Sherlock rounded on him, as though Sherlock of all people didn't know to stick to the facts.

"Once you've ruled out the impossible, whatever remains - however improbable - must be true."

Sherlock watched John furrow his eyebrows and try to make sense of the phrase, while he heard Ms. Tyler hum her agreement. "What does that mean?" John asked.

Sherlock looked away and reached down and to take another gulp of the brandy Ms. Tyler brought him. Before he could however, he looked down at his trembling hand and sniggered.

"Look at me. I'm afraid, John. Afraid." He takes a drink then holds the glass up higher, still shaking.

"Sherlock?" John asked, glancing to Ms. Tyler for help but her gaze was set on Sherlock.

"Always been able to keep myself distant," He takes another drink. "Divorce myself from ... feelings." He said the last word with as much disgust as he could muster. "But look, you see.. body's betraying me. Interesting, yes? Emotions." Sherlock slammed the glass down onto the table. "The grit on the lens, the fly in the ointment."

John barely refrained from rolling his eyes but Sherlock saw his annoyance as clear as day, not that he cared much. "Yeah, all right, Spock, just..." John looked around as he realized his voice was carrying. "take it easy."

"Sherlock, breathe." Ms. Tyler whispered, placing her hand on his arm till he took in a few more breaths, but he still failed to bring himself under control. He glanced panic-stricken at Ms. Tyler who bit her lip and rubbed his arm, John pulled Sherlock's attention away from her again.

"You're been pretty wired lately, you know you have. I think you've just gone out there and got yourself a bit worked up."

Sherlock knew to what John was referring, to his need to have a case to take his mind off things he didn't want to think about. As far as John knew, Sherlock thought Irene Adler was in America under a witness-protection program and Sherlock was finding cases to stop from thinking about The Woman.

That wasn't it though, Sherlock was looking for cases because life was boring, people were ordinary, and he wanted a case that was out of the ordinary, anything that was out of the ordinary. He was bored and John had kept every pharmacy in a five mile radius from selling to him.

"Worked... up?" Sherlock tested.

"It was dark and scary..."

Sherlock laughed hysterically, shocking Ms. Tyler into releasing his arm. "Me?! There's nothing wrong with me." His deep breaths started coming faster till he was hyperventilating and had to put his fingertips to his temples and groan. Sherlock could feel both sets of eyes watching him.

"Sherlock..." John started, but Sherlock didn't look at him, didn't move his head from leaning against his shaking hands. "Sher-"

"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!" Sherlock rounded on John furiously. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Both men looked around at the many extra set of eyes focused on them and saw all of the patrons staring at them. Sherlock looked away and found Ms. Tyler moved her chair closer to his, but was now out of sight of the rest of the Inn. He looked away from the blonde to John.

"You want me to prove it, yes?" He sneered. He pulled in a deep breath, trying to get himself under control. "Were looking for a dog, yes, a great big dog, that's your brilliant theory. Cherchez le chien. Good, excellent, yes, where shall we start?" John sat back in his chair and prepared for the deductions to start as Sherlock went into his relentless deduction mode.

Sherlock looked around the room and located the easiest target, a mother and son she recognized from the train. Not cheating, just something he needed. So he started making his deductions, started pulling apart the lives of two people in front of him, then pulling it all together by bringing up the mother's terrier.

"I use my senses, John, unlike some people, so you see, I am fine, in fact I've never been better, so just Leave. Me. Alone." Sherlock glared a John who stared back at him in shock, but it wasn't the shock of a man impressed with Sherlock's deductions, but shocked with his behavior. John hadn't been shocked by his behavior in a long time.

"Yeah," John cleared his throat. "Okay, okay." Sherlock ignored John and stared at the fire breathing heavily. "And why would you listen to me? I'm just your friend."

"I don't have friends," Sherlock said savagely.

"Naah. Wonder why?" John snapped, getting up and stomping away.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock and Rose sat in silence for a beat, Rose simply waiting for him to catch his breath before speaking. Once he did, she chose her words wisely.

"We're not goldfish, yeah? You said I'm not ordinary and you, Sherlock Holmes, are most definitely a special man." She smiled at him but he still stared into the fire. "You've never been ordinary. Me? I was plain the first nineteen years of my life. I had a very plain boyfriend who I adored anyways, a normal, loving, and crazy mother, and the most boring job, and believe it or not, I was content. I was surrounded by people that loved me on all sides." Sherlock finally looked up to watch Rose as she spoke, so she gave him a small smile.

"Then, I met a genius just like you and I saw everything in a whole different way. I learned _so much_ from him and I changed. I changed so much that my mother said she hardly recognized me anymore." Rose took a deep breath and clasped her hands together to lean her chin on them. "I changed for the better, there was no denying that, but in the process a line, no a canyon had formed between me, and everyone else. I started getting these looks from those I had known all my life, like they didn't understand the words coming out of my mouth when I knew I was speaking English."

Rose shook her head, looked up to Sherlock and tilted her head. "I had changed, I had become special and I'd gotten out of that ordinary, bland life and it was _wonderful_ ," Rose implored Sherlock to understand how grateful she was to be Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, Space, Time, and Universe Traveller, and becoming Brigadier Tyler was one of her favorite achievements. She was eternally grateful to the Doctor and would never change any part of her past, but she was still speaking the truth. "But I was alone. I am alone. But you aren't, you have John, Sherlock. Yeah, he may be a bit of a goldfish, but not really, more like a dolphin or whale. He isn't ordinary, because he treats you like you're normal too, unlike everyone else. Don't let your fear push him away."

Rose stood from her spot and placed a light hand on Sherlock's shoulder. He looked up to her with a vulnerable expression that pulled on her heart, and his grey eyes begged her to find a solution. Her breath caught, and for the first time she saw the Tenth Doctor in Sherlock, saw the look the Doctor had when he thought she wouldn't continue traveling with him, the lonely eyes of a genius. But Sherlock was human, and John was a good man, she didn't need to intervene and tell Sherlock how to fix this, he knew. So Rose smiled down at Sherlock and leaned down to kiss his cheek. She felt the shock go through him as she pulled away but didn't think about it when she turned and walked away from him. She felt him watch her the whole way, and when she reached the door, she turned around and gave him a half smile.

Once she stepped outside she took a deep breath, then another one. This was dangerous, very dangerous. Spending time with a genius like Mycroft was one thing, the only feelings Mycroft had were contempt and worry, contempt for everyone in the world save his family and Rose. Mycroft was straight-forward and reliable, but his brother, while equal in intellect, was nothing like him. Rose saw the emotions brimming in his eyes, felt them in the air around him. Sherlock felt as deeply as everyone else but because he grew up with Mycroft he believed he should be above those feelings so he hid them away from himself and everyone else. It was just so similar to her first doctor that she could see herself falling and breaking all over again. Once she was finished babysitting, she was determined to go to Cardiff and deal with any problem, even small ones like having to make translations, to avoid London for as long as possible. Rose didn't feel anything romantic towards the detective at the moment, though she was growing friendlier with John and him with each encounter, but she had grown rather protective of her heart and wouldn't risk it again. Hopefully she could keep a friendship with John however.

"John!" Rose hollered when she spotted him walking away from the Inn. He turned around and gave a grin that looked more like a grimace. "Wait up," She said jogging up to him. "Where ya headed?" She asked, wrapping her arm around his and heading in the direction he had been.

John raised his arm and pointed towards a flashing light on a hillside in the distance, "there."

"Alright, carry on, Knight!" Rose giggled, hurrying John's pace while keeping a hold on his arm, hoping to raise his spirits.

"Knight?" John inquired, grinning down at her.

"My knight in shinning armor! Sir. Doctor. John Watson!"

"Sir Doctor?" John laughed along with her.

"So official, yeah?" Rose gave her tongue-in-tooth smile and felt John's anger begin to ebb away, but was still simmering under the surface. "So what's the light then? Morse code?" Is that the Umpra you were talking about before?"

" A. I don't know what it could be or why someone would be signaling, so I guess this will probably be a waste of time but-"

"No! Every odd thing should be investigated. No matter if it ends up being important or not, it always ends up being a good story." Rose insisted.

John agreed with Rose and the pair laughed while climbing up the hill, and then, when Rose spotted the row of cars she pent over in peals of laughter. John, who hadn't been as much of an ordinary teenager as Rose had been, took a minute and a few glances around before, "Oh God." John couldn't quite laugh as much as Rose was as he had truly thought he would find something to help in the case, but he did help her stand up properly with a few chuckles. "Oh, shut up, Rose," he groaned, stumbling back down the hill because Rose couldn't quite stand up properly.

"I'm sorry," Rose gasped, taking a deep breath to calm down, but when a car horn beeped behind them, she fell to the ground with peels of laughter and looked up to see John grinning down on her, his anger and stress fully gone for the moment. Her goal accomplished, Rose sat forward and reached for John's arm and pulled him down to the ground also. "Now what?"

John sighed and leaned forward. "Guess I have to go back to Sherlock, prick that he is."

"He's not that bad," Rose shrugged. "Bet he'll even apologize in the morning."

"Sherlock?" John scoffed and shook his head. "He'll act like nothing happened." Rose shrugged as well, he did know Sherlock better than she did.

John's phone lit up and they both looked at it to read the text.

 _"Henry's therapist currently in Cross Keys Pub -S"_

John scoffed and looked up to roll his eyes at Rose and sent his reply: " _So?_ "

Sherlock, who must have resulted to his phone as company with John and Sherlock gone, texted back immediately. " _Interview her? - S_ "

"Is he serious? See I told you he would just act like nothing happened!" John complained to Rose, who patted his shoulder consolingly while John replied anyways. " _Why should I?_ "

Sherlock didn't text back that time, simply sent a picture of a pretty woman around John's age which made Rose and John chuckle.

"Let's head back, Sir Doctor Watson, see if you can't dazzle another damsel," Rose joked, jumping to her feet and then pulling John to his.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It took Sherlock a while after Ms. Tyler left to head to bed, he had a lot to think about. Not only about the mysterious hound lurking in Dartmoor, but the mysterious blonde as well. John was obviously taken with her, he was a friendly man and she a friendly woman, it was no surprise to the detective that a friendship had sprung up between them so quickly. What was a surprise was how taken he was towards Rose Tyler as well.

She was stimulating in ways John fell short of, but her calm demeanor kept any competition from forming like what always happened when Mycroft visited. Sherlock felt she would be a welcome addition to the people he associated with, if she wasn't so intriguing. She was equally as open as John, yet never actually said anything substantial about her past. She was happy to be placed in the background and forgotten, yet she held a large position of power and was easily the smartest woman in any room at any time. She was a people's person, but she was lonely.

After coming to the conclusion that he would need more time to observe Rose Tyler, Sherlock went back to focusing on the case. What he told John was true, he believed that if he ruled out all other possibilities, whatever was left, no matter how implausible, had to be the answer, but he hadn't ruled out all possibilities yet.

It was at that point Henry's therapist walked into the pub and Sherlock texted John, unsure if he would reply after Sherlock's harsh words, but after minimal persuasion, John was headed back to the pub to continue the case. Though his people skills were minimal, Sherlock recognized that if he was still in the pub when John arrived, John's people skills may be strained from his anger towards Sherlock, so Sherlock reluctantly parted from his corner of the pub to head up to the musky bedrooms.

He sat for a long time, entering his mind palace to observe all possibilities as to why he saw a demon hound that night. After an unknown amount of time, he had finally come to the conclusion that in order for his senses to be doubted and distracted, he had to be drugged. But the effects were different from all of the drugs he had ever tried so it had to be something being experimented with in Baskerville. Once he decided this was the reason behind his distress, he let his mind palace fall away, as well as all of the anxiety of the afternoon.

John had returned at some point while Sherlock was in his mind palace, and had fallen asleep on his bed. Though Sherlock did not usually sleep much while on cases, he had nothing else to do to further the case so he laid down on the lumpy bed and fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of both a hound and a wolf.


	6. Greg Lestrade

When Rose woke up the next morning she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She had nothing to do until her credentials arrived around noon, though she thought she should probably get started on her report of Baskerville since she had already gone on the earth based tour, but she didn't see that happening. She was a field agent for a reason, sitting in one place for an extend period of time made her jumpy, which was why it was a good thing she had such a good memory and Mycroft favored her over others. Half of her office was filled with unfinished reports on her latest field cases, she always ended up finishing the report, but Mycroft never got on her unless it had been over six months and that was only because he worried her memory wouldn't stay accurate any longer. Since Baskerville needed quite a bit of improvement and she didn't doubt by the end of the day she would be furious with them, she figured she would write up this report within the week.

Reluctantly, Rose got out of bed and got herself ready for the day. She had slept in later than she expected, but then she had stayed up later than she expected as well, writing down the mental notes she had on Baskerville. Now, more rested than she had been in a while, Rose entered the pub in casual attire and looked around, hoping John or Sherlock were still around to keep her company at least through breakfast. However, Rose quickly realized it was later than she realized and both men were back working on their famous case.

John and Sherlock may have been becoming more like people than characters to her, but Rose was still giddy at the thought of being a part of the Hound of Baskerville case. Twice yesterday, she caught herself opening her phone to call Mickey, who was the only other person she knew, besides the Doctor, that had read the short story since their eighth grade class required it. Each time, she sighed and put her phone away, wondering what he was doing in the Original Universe and if he had seen the Doctor recently. It was truly ironic the multi-universe had allowed Mickey the Idiot to stay closer to the Doctor than she was.

"What'll it be, lass?" Gary walked up to the table Rose had sat at, handing her a menu.

"Just a cup of tea, thank you Gary," Rose replied with a smile, she glanced around the pub and her smile grew. "And can you send some chips to that man over there? On me." Gary nodded and smiled at her, heading back behind the bar to put in her order.

Rose sat in the corner of the bar, observing her new target of entertainment with a fond smile. Gary brought over her tea, before carrying a basket of chips to the man at the bar. She had told Gary not to tell him who sent the chips, and watched with immense pleasure as Greg Lestrade received the basket of chips and immediately started laughing, looking around the room till he located Rose and started making his way towards her, the basket of chips in his hands.

"I believe these are yours," Greg laughed, sitting in front of Rose and pushing the basket towards her. "I happen to hate the things."

"Why thank you!" Rose laughed, reaching forward and snatching them away from him. "Though every time you say that I rethink staying anywhere near you."

Greg rolled his eyes, but looked on at the woman in front of him fondly. "What are you doing in Dartmoor, Rose?" He asked.

"Baskerville's lack of supervision was brought to my attention, and as a Brigadier, I thought it'd be best if I visited instead of anyone else in the office in case I needed to pull rank." Having been thinking about her answer to his imminent question while waiting for the chips to come out, Rose didn't even hesitate as the lie poured out her lips.

She had met DI Lestrade when she attended a gala centered around building connections between the police force and military. At the time, she had been in Sherlock's Universe for six months and was making her way into UNIT's inner circles, much to Mycroft's dismay. It was because of this he made her go to the gala, informing her that if she insisted on making a name for herself instead of staying in the background, she needed more friends in high places to protect her. She spent half the night bemoaning to Mycroft, until she had successfully irritated him enough that he grabbed the arm of the first person he recognized and left Rose with him, which happened to be the famous DI Lestrade.

"Brigadier! When did this happened?" Greg exclaimed, opening his hand to see the proof. Rose shoved a chip in his hand instead and he dropped it in disgust much to her pleasure. "Here I thought I'd be invited to the ceremony."

Rose smiled and patted his arm fondly. "No ceremony this time, I begged to avoid it. But maybe for when I become General?" She winked at Greg, only half-joking and he knew it. Since they had met four years ago, she had weaseled her way from Major to Brigadier. Because of her previous work, Mycroft entered her into UNITs system as a Captain.

"General Rose Tyler? Quite a ring to it," Greg laughed and looked around the pub with a contemplative expression. "Surely Baskerville could find better lodging than this?"

Rose shrugged, "It was rather last minute. Are you staying here tonight?"

Greg shrugged as well. "I guess, it was last minute for me as well."

"Weren't you just on vacation? Italy wasn't it? What are you doing in Dartmoor?" Rose inquired, but when Greg reached up and scratched the back of his neck, she knew her answer.

"Well, thought I'd see the sights here as well, I have the days after all."

"Mhmm," Rose raised her eyebrow at him, but didn't press. She didn't have to because the man they were both there for had just rushed into the pub and was stomping his way towards them.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Luckily, John was rather use to Sherlock mood swings, and Sherlock had grown a lot since he met John, so by the time they left Henry Knight's house, they were back on good terms. With harmony restored, Sherlock was bouncing ideas off of John's head to get his thought's straight. However, when Sherlock turned towards the pub door, all thoughts of the case fell away as he took in the sight of Rose Tyler smiling and holding the arm of DI Lestrade.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sherlock all but yelled, glaring at Lestrade when he jumped away from Ms. Tyler guiltily. For her part, Ms. Tyler sat back in her seat slowly to appear in the background. Lestrade was now focused solely on Sherlock, seemingly to forget Ms. Tyler was there for the moment, but Sherlock still kept a mental eye on her to observe her reactions.

"Well, nice to see you too," Greg complained, standing up from the table to face Sherlock. "I'm on holiday, would you believe?"

"No, I wouldn't," Sherlock deadpanned. John walked up next to Sherlock and smiled at Lestrade and Ms. Tyler.

"Hullo, John," Lestrade said, taking his sunglasses off. Sherlock watched Ms. Tyler, who didn't seem surprised that they all knew each other. Instead, she smiled at the grey haired men fondly, before meeting Sherlock's gaze and raising an eyebrow, her smile growing to the point that he had to roll his eyes at her to prevent his lips from lifting as well.

"Greg!"

"I heard you were in the area. What are you up to? You after this Hound of Hell like on the telly?" Lestrade asked, reaching that conclusion too quickly for someone of his intelligence. Sherlock glanced back down to Ms. Tyler in question, and when she shook her head he returned his gaze to Lestrade.

"I'm waiting for an explanation, Inspector. Why are you here?" Sherlock demanded.

"I've told you, I'm on holiday.

"You're brown as a nut," Sherlock declared. "You're clearly just back from your holidays."

Lestrade shrugged and glanced down at Ms. Tyler, once again looking guilty when she grinned at him and raised her eyebrow again. Sherlock did not like the familiarity between the two.

"Yeah, well I fancied another one." Lestrade said this while still grinning at Ms. Tyler, something John took notice of as well.

"You're here for Rose?" He asked, sounding skeptical as he looked between the two.

"No," Lestrade cleared his throat while Ms. Tyler laughed, finally standing up to join the conversation, patting the Detective Inspector on the shoulder.

"I saw Greg by the bar and sent over a basket of chips to say hi," Ms. Tyler explained.

"You know each other?"

"You hate chips."

John and Sherlock said at the same time, both looking to Lestrade whose neck was starting to get red.

"It's a running joke," Ms. Tyler explained, grinning up at Lestrade until his shoulders relaxed and he was back at ease.

"We met a few years ago at a gala," Lestrade explained. "been friends ever since."

"And the chips?" Sherlock prodded.

Ms. Tyler laughed as the blush returned to Lestrade's neck. "Greg had asked me to go get drinks after the gala, when I discovered his dislike of chips I declared it was impossible for me to go out on a date with the likes of him. Now, every time I see him I send him a basket of chips in hopes that the gorgeous detective inspector has changed his mind." Ms. Tyler finished her explanation with a playful wink at the detective. Sherlock scowled at them both even more, and was determined to change the topic away from the idea of Ms. Tyler and Lestrade going on a date.

"So why are you here then?" Lestrade shrugged again, blush being replaced with a pallor expression. "Oh, this is Mycroft, isn't it?"

Lestrade raised his hands between him and Sherlock and immediately started shaking his head. "No, look..."

"Of course it is! One mention of Baskerville and he sends down my handler to ... to spy on me incognito. Is that why you're calling yourself Greg?" Sherlock scoffed, however hesitated to continue his taunt when Ms. Tyler gave him a confused look and John cleared his throat.

"That's his name."

"Is it?" Sherlock frowned.

"Yes." Lestrade grit out. "If you'd ever bothered to find out. Look, I'm not your handler," Lestrade glanced at Ms. Tyler and stood up straighter. "and I don't just do what your brother tells me."

"Actually, you could be just the man we want," John said, beginning to rummage in his trouser pocket.

"Why?" Sherlock asked with a frown.

"Well, I've not been idle, Sherlock. I think I might have found something." John pulled out a sales invoice from Undershaw Meat Supplies. "Didn't know if it was relevant; starting to look like it might be. That is an awful lot of meat for a vegetarian restaurant."

"Excellent," Sherlock complimented.

"Nice scary inspector from Scotland Yard who can put in a few calls might come in handy."

Sherlock exchanged a look with Lestrade, who nodded, then he looked to Ms. Tyler who was grinning at all the men. Out of all the deductions he had made of the woman in front of him, it was her loneliness that intrigued him the most, because it was entirely intentional. She put herself in the background, excluded herself from conversations, and didn't seem inclined to pursue any type of relationship further than acquaintance. It all led to the conclusion that she was hiding something, something huge but so obvious that if anyone got too close they would figure it out. And he so wanted to figure it out.

"Whelp!" Ms. Tyler clapped. "I believe thats my cue to head out." She looked at the modest watch on her wrist. "I have some files being delivered to Baskerville that should be there any minute. Don't want the Major's sticky fingers getting to them without me there." She reached around and grabbed two chips, eating one and flicking the other at the DI. "Help yourself to the rest boys." She offered, gravitating towards John and wrapping her arm around his in way of goodbye.

"We'll see you later, Rose." John said, matching her grin with his own.

"Yeah? Dinner if I get out early?" She suggested, looking away from John to share the offer to Sherlock and Lestrade.

"No," John started, and she deflated a little so Sherlock cut in.

"We have full access to Baskerville tonight, we'll head out there after we talk with the Inn's manager," Sherlock explained.

"Yeah? How'd you manage that?" She asked, grinning broadly once again.

"I pulled in some favors," Sherlock replied, straightening up and tugging at his collar. Next to Ms. Tyler, John snickered.

"He asked his big brother for help."

"Oi!" Lestrade complained. "And you get on me?"

"Shut up, Lestrade," Sherlock glowered, looking away from the chuckling John and Ms. Tyler. "Thought you had somewhere to be, Ms. Tyler."

Ms. Tyler laughed but agreed. She extracted her arm from John's and smiled at Lestrade and Sherlock. "I'll see you two later, Greg, I'll send some chips to the office later this week, yeah?"

With that, she waved to them all and headed out of the pub while John called for the manager. Sherlock watched her go, until she turned around and smiled at him over her shoulder.


	7. The Astrobiology Level

"I think I'm rather capable of watching your brother on my own, Mycroft." Rose complained into the phone, cutting the engine of the jeep but staying in the car, keeping an eye out for Emma.

"Sending DI Lestrade was not meant to be seen as an insult to your abilities, Ms. Tyler. Your job is to keep Sherlock from finding out about the existence of Extra-Terrestrials in Baskerville, Lestrade's job is to keep Sherlock safe and in line."

"I was doing that!" Rose exclaimed, still feeling rather insulted.

"You complained of feeling as a babysitter, Ms. Tyler, this was my solution. I did not send you there to watch and befriend my brother, just keep him away from important information. Lestrade will take over when he is not in Baskerville." Mycroft declared. "Emma just texted that she has arrived, have fun." Then he hung up on her.

Rose threw her phone into the passenger seat, then hit her head a few times against the steering wheel. "Stupid stupid stupid." She told herself.

Sherlock wasn't her friend, she didn't have friends. Her job in Dartmoor was centered around keeping aliens safe, its what she was devoting the rest of her life to, not to some genius with pretty eyes. Yesterday she had been complaining to Mycroft, he wasn't lying, yet twenty-four hours later and she didn't want Greg to take over for her. She may not want to babysit Mycroft's little brother, but she wanted to help Sherlock and John, and she really wanted to be there to see Sherlock figure the case out.

But this was her chance to get out. Obviously she was getting attached to the duo, and a friendship with John would be welcomed, he wasn't a suspicious man and Mycroft can handle him, but Sherlock? Sherlock would find her out. And in the process she would break again. Too much relied on her stability now. She oversaw all of the United Kingdom's alien interactions, and last time she broke- No.

Rose got out of the car and slammed the door behind her, steeling her features back into her Brigadier Tyler expression that she had lost hold of too often while on this trip. She pushed thoughts of geniuses back where they belonged and headed towards the black sedan pulling through security. She opened the door for Emma when it parked in front of her, and beamed at the familiar sight of Mycroft's secretary typing away on her phone.

"The files, Emma?" Rose prodded, the brunette glanced up and nodded, turning and pulling out all the old paperwork she needed. "Thank you, let Mycroft know I'm headed to Cardiff as soon as my business with Baskerville is finished."

"Right away, Ma'am," Emma said, slipping back into the car and riding back out.

Rose couldn't help but roll her eyes as she turned and started making her way towards Major Barrymore's office, eager to get her tour and expected argument finished before Sherlock and John arrived and started sniffing their noses around.

Rose didn't even bother to wait for the Major to read her file. She slammed the stack of papers down, demanded a tour guide that had knowledge of the Astrobiology level, then left the Major office without another word. Captain Hart was sent to lead the way, a woman a few years older than Rose with a blank expression and closed lips. She was a member of security that regulated who entered and exited the Astrobiology level and when questioned as to what her opinion on Baskerville was, Captain Hart stayed silent.

They took the lift down in silence, Captain Hart had her arms crossed while she leaned against the back wall with her eyes focused on Rose, but Rose stood still with her arms at her side. All of her notes on Baskerville so far would be going to Mycroft to review and decide what to do about it, but the Astrobiology level was Rose's territory.

The doors open to reveal a long, empty hallway with two guards at the end standing on either side of a large metal door with a striking resemblance to a vault. Rose and Captain Hart walked down the hall, flashed their badges then scanned their IDs. The large door opened inwards so the two women took a step back and had to wait a moment to get a proper view. Rose hummed when she saw the room.

It wasn't as bright as the upper levels, but couldn't be called dimly lit either. The floors and walls were cement and any doors leading into other rooms were metal like the entrance. The only people in the room were scientists and guards mingling over lab tables with paper work and chemicals spread around across them. Unlike in the earth-bound levels, everyone in the room looked up when the doors opened, and all of the guards stepped forward when they saw Rose's unfamiliar face. One of them, a man in his forties with dyed black hair and narrowing eyes, stepped forward and faced Captain Hart, waiting for an introduction.

"Captain Walker, Brigadier Tyler of UNIT." All of the guards in the room stood to attention while the scientists started exchanging wary glances.

"At ease." Rose stated, not looking at the people in the room but starting to walk around and observe the paper work on the lab tables. "Quite a lot of research projects going on at one time, yet I don't see any aliens mingling around." Rose observed, she picked up a random file and began reading. "You're looking into finding a way to grow armor on humans?" Rose asked, looking around at the silent scientists, the man closest to her nodded hesitantly. "Do you have Judoon working with you? Or Sontarans?" At the confused looks she understood they didn't have those rather volatile aliens, which was a relief for her. Having to deal with childish Sontarans was one thing, but to discuss anything calmly with Judoon was impossible. "Kraal then? Plasmatons?" No one reacted to any of the aliens Rose listed off, so she slammed the file down and glared at the male scientist in front of her. "Who has offered to show you armor base genes then?"

"A Solonain," the scientist stuttered out.

"What?" Rose exclaimed. "What form are they in?" Again with the blank stares. "Who the hell is in charge down here for you not to know anything about your subjects? Solonians don't have a gene for their armor in their Insectoid form, its from radiation and crystals on their planet."

The scientists exchanged looks and shifted uncomfortably, no one stepping forward to speak with Rose now. Captain Hart was standing in the same place she had been, her blank expression replaced with a scowl. Rose decided to get answers from the source and started picking up random files, glancing through them and throwing them back down, until she came to a file focused on regenerating gene cells. She froze, staring at the research unseeingly for a full minute, until she snapped out of it, slamming the file on the table and turning to Captain Hart.

"I want to see all the aliens Baskerville is working with."

She nodded, and motioned towards a door in the back of the room. Maneuvering around the frozen guards and scientists, Rose made her way to the door, her thoughts and heart racing in anticipation. After scanning their IDs once again, the door swung open and where the last room had been eerily quiet, Rose was hit with a wave of sound and feelings that she actually stumbled and held herself up against the metal door. Anguish, depression, and fear was hitting her in waves, and before she could gather the strength to look up and see what was in the room, she was already mentally cussing everyone in the room behind her.

With a deep breath, Rose stepped into the dimly lit room and took it in. Cages.

"You bastards," Rose whispered, running up to the first cage and falling to her knees. The last time she had met this creature, she had been indignant for them, then scared of them, and then she mourned them. Once again, she was seeing an Ood in chains with his heart in his hands, except this time he was stripped down instead of dressed up as a butler of sorts. The Ood cradled his brain close to his chest, for the first time trying to protect it instead of offering it up kindly. They had broken the soul of an Ood.

Tears were already streaming down her face before she even reached a hand through the cage and grasped the Oods hands desperately. She was only an empath, so she could couldn't speak with the Ood but she spoke soothing words to him and gave promises she fully intended to follow through with.

"I will get you out of here, I will get you home, I promise." Rose whispered, rubbing her face dry of tears with her free hand.

"You will?" A voice called from a neighboring cell in a unique accent. Reluctantly, Rose released the Ood's hand and moved so she could see into the next cell. In it was a human woman, completely naked with scars littering her skin. Rose gasped upon seeing her and moved to grab her hand as well, tears springing to both of their eyes. The woman was a red head, with nimble fingers and her ribs protruding from her hollow stomach. Where she had been feeling depression from that cell, Rose now felt sparks of hope floating around. "You'll send us home?"

"As soon as I can," Rose promised, squeezing the woman's hand while still paying close attention to her pulse. Only one heart. "Where are you from, dear?" Rose asked.

"Cheetah World," She choked out. "They saw me transform when the connection to my world was cut and believe I can do it at will. They've been experimenting with my genes, thinking I'm a shape shifter."

"They think you can regenerate your genes," Rose explained. She squeezed the Cheetah Person's hand and whispered. "I will get you home and bring back your connection with your world. All of you." Rose stood up from her crouch, letting go of the Cheetah Person's hand and walked further into the prison. In total, Baskerville had nine aliens they were holding and testing: Ood, Tivolis, Cheetah Person, two Tetraps, Mentor, and three Solonians in their insectoid form.

Rose spent the next two hours speaking softly with all of the aliens that could understand English or just sitting there and humming soothingly to the ones that could not. By the end of the two hours, she had run out of tears and was filled with such anger she thought she would burn. Screaming orders to the security guards, she had all of the aliens released from their cages and placed in separate rooms with beds being moved into them and showers meant for only the scientists were open for the aliens. Basically, she gave orders that everyone on the Astrobiology level was to follow the aliens orders to a point and ensure they were in complete comfort.

She left Alyssa, the Cheetah Person, in charge, after ensuring the tetraps were not hostile more than simply being angry with the Baskerville staff and that the Solonians were comfortable in their new room, but also safe from harming others. She made her way back to the lift after hugging Alyssa, the Tivolis named Jared, and the Ood, promising to return in a few hours. She couldn't care less if Captain Hart was still following her, but when she stepped into the lift, she found the silent woman stepping in behind her, a smile now replacing the scowl.

"Ensure none of the Baskerville staff interrupts my meeting with the Major," Rose ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Once I reach the Major's office, you're to return and ensure everyone is listening to Alyssa."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Then I am to receive all of the information on how each of those aliens came to Earth and how Baskerville got the OK to keep them in the facility."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The lift opened and Rose and Captain Hart walked at a brisk pace to the Major's office, once they reached it, Rose turned to Captain Hart. "Captain Hart."

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"You are free to speak your mind, please do so now," Rose ordered the Captain, she had felt an army of emotions down in the Astrobiology level, but only now did she choose to focus on her silent tour guide.

"Baskerville is under outdated management, Ma'am." She seemed unwilling to explain further but her statement was something Rose wholeheartedly agreed with.

"Thank you, Captain Hart." With a nod, the two women parted ways and Rose faced the Major's door.

More out of anger than for effect, Rose slammed the door open and stomped into the office. The Major immediately sat straighter in his chair when Rose hit her hands against his desk and leaned forward.

"Never, in all my time working with UNIT, have I seen more barbaric actions taken towards aliens," Rose said in a deathly whisper. "What do you have to say for yourself?" The Major opened his mouth, but Rose turned around and started pacing. "Because everyone knows that Earth is a level 5 planet, thus keeping us from the attention of more advanced civilizations who would wish to exploit us. Yet the offenses you have committed against nine aliens completely warrant any of their home planets attacking Earth, which is perfectly within Galactic Law!" Rose spun back around to the speechless Major. "Would you have treated any human being or earth based creature the way you've treated those aliens? Or do you even know what your scientists have gotten up to down there?"

"Brigadier, we have broken now laws here-"

"NO LAWS?" Rose yelled. "You have not only held nine innocent creatures in cages, but you have tested them without consent, tortured them without reason, and ignored all protocol I have set into place in the past years. I will have you discharged for this, Major."

"Baskerville has stayed well within the rules, and I won't let Mycroft Holme's lap dog coming in here and yipping at me," Major Barrymore argued, standing up as well and glaring at Rose.

"Lap dog? I prefer the term Bad Wolf." Rose whispered, feeling her eyes flash gold and watching the Major go deathly pale. "And make that dishonorably discharged, Barrymore." The Major sat back in his chair and gulped, staring wide eyed at Rose, unable, like all the rest, to look away from her eyes swirling with gold. "Baskerville is officially under UNIT's management, all aliens will be released and either sent back to their home planet or set up comfortably on Earth. All personnel will be under scrutiny and thoroughly investigated before given leave to continue working here."

"You can't do that!" Barrymore argued once again, thoroughly snapping Rose's control.

"Watch me!" She snarled. "Baskerville is not without supervision! There are rules to follow! Laws I have put in place that you have ignored because you are an old man too stubborn to realize a woman is more intelligent and in a higher seat of power than you! I have seen _nothing_ in Baskerville worth keeping and there is a very high chance I will be ordering a complete shut down of the whole facility!

"Do you realize that had any of the leaders of other civilizations happened upon this facility, that would be it?! We would move to Level 6 and have creatures popping up so fast that the general public would go into chaos! All because you believe humans superior to all other beings and think that gives you the right to treat them as though they have no feelings! I should have you thrown in jail for this!"

A knock at the door stopped Rose's tirade. Rose growled, making the Major flinch away when she spun around and threw the door open. "Wait outside," Rose snarled at the shocked Sherlock, then slammed the door in his face before he could see her eyes.

Slowly, Rose stalked towards her prey, keeping the Bad Wolf sparkling in her eyes, and leaned in close to the Major to whisper. "I am now in charge of Baskerville, you are free to go." With that, the Major scrambled out of his seat and out the door, leaving a very confused Sherlock in his wake. For her part, Rose sat down in the Major's chair and ran a hand down her face, feeling Bad Wolf recede from her eyes.

After Game Station 5, Rose told the Doctor she didn't remember anything, because that was what he needed to hear. The truth was she did remember. Not what she saw while being Bad Wolf, thats what had burned her, but she remembered her Doctor and she remembered the TARDIS. The beautiful heart of the TARDIS, Rose looked into it and the TARDIS looked into her's and they became one for a few glorious moment.

When the Doctor separated them, she held on to Rose, bonded them as sisters and made Rose an empath -Rose could sense feelings in the air the same way the TARDIS communicated with emotions. It wasn't until she was separated from the Doctor that she realized she could shift her eyes from Rose's to the Bad Wolf's if she was feeling an emotion strong enough. She was still human though, Pete's Torchwood had her thoroughly tested, but having Bad Wolf still lingering in her mind was a comfort when the darkness crept in. It meant the TARDIS was still out there, that the Doctor still had her, traveling time and space.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock waited outside the Major's office patiently, expecting to hear more of the yelling he had heard while walking towards the door. It seemed Brigadier Tyler didn't want him to overhear the conversation, it had sounded very confidential after all. A moment later, the door slammed open and closed once again, the Major storming out and cussing Brigadier Tyler's name thoroughly. It took longer for the door to open the second time, but Sherlock stood patiently.

"Sherlock," Brigadier Tyler greeted, sounding rather relieved and out of breath. "Please come into my new office."

"Your office?" Sherlock questioned, Brigadier Tyler nodded but didn't clarify, walking around the desk and sitting in the chair with a sigh.

"You're here for the badge, yeah? May take me a second to find one, new office and all," Brigadier Tyler laughed but it was half-hearted.

Sherlock watched her while she moved around the office. She had a new heaviness in her shoulders, which most certainly came from becoming the new Director of Baskerville apparently. But Rose Tyler didn't seem the type to crack under pressure, more thrive, so it had to be something that had happened to cause the change in command. Then he realize she hadn't taken the moment in her office to calm down from a fight. It was hidden well by her makeup, but there was still a red ring under her eyes that indicated tears had been shed recently.

"What's wrong?" Sherlock asked when he came to this conclusion. Brigadier Tyler's hand froze in it's pursuit of a cabinet, then continued on as she ignored the question. "What happened?" Ms. Tyler turned her back on him and continued searching for a universal badge he could use. "Rose." Sherlock snapped, causing Brigadier Tyler to whip around and bare her teeth at him angrily, but before she could initiate a fight, Major Barrymore returned to his office.

"I don't care who or what you are, Rose Tyler, I am in charge of Baskerville until told differently by the person who assigned me here, the Queen." Barrymore proclaimed, puffing his chest out proudly while Sherlock and Brigadier Tyler looked on unimpressed.

"Alright, I'll get a hold of her, you find Sherlock the universal badge," Brigadier Tyler deadpanned pulling out her mobile and turning her back on the room.

"Oh, you know I'd love to." Barrymore hissed, narrowing his eyes at Sherlock who raised and eyebrow in return. "I'd love to give you unlimited access to this place. Why not?"

"Orders from Mycroft Holmes. It's a simple enough request, Major."

"I've never heard of anything so bizarre."

"You're to give me twenty-four hours. It's what I've..." Sherlock glanced to Brigadier Tyler who was in a heated discussion over idiot men with whoever was on the other side of the line. "Negotiated."

"Not a second more," Barrymore said sternly. "I may have to comply to _this_ order but I don't have to like it." He walked to his desk now that Brigadier Tyler had vacated it, and handed over two badges that were in a locked drawer. "I don't know what you expect to find here anyway."

"Perhaps the truth," Sherlock said, which oddly enough elicited a laugh from the Major.

"Oh, I see. The big coat should have told me." Sherlock frowned. "You're one of the conspiracy lot, aren't you?" Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Well, then, go ahead, seek them out: the monsters, the death rays, the aliens."

Sherlock shrugged nonchalantly though he noticed Brigadier Tyler had turned around and was now watching them both closely, the Major smirked at her. "Have you got any of those?" Sherlock asked sarcastically, making Barrymore roll his eyes. "Just wondering."

"A couple. Crash landed here in the sixties. We call them Abbott and Costello."

"Torture them as well, Major?" Brigadier Tyler barked, snapping her phone shut with a dangerous look in her eye. "You're right, I won't be taking over Baskerville." Sherlock watched her pause simply to enjoy the brief smug look pass over the Majors face before she took it away. "UNIT will arrive in the morning and I'm having my favorite Colonel sent down to help escort you from the premisses. Until then, I've been given permission to appoint whomever I wish to ensure the transition goes smoothly. Captain Hart and Alyssa will be working together on that."

"Alyssa?!" Barrymore yelled, jumping up but before he moved further, Sherlock slammed his hand on his shoulder and forced the man into his seat.

"We're going now." Sherlock declared, tightening his grip on Barrymore's shoulder till he flinched. Brigadier Tyler marched out of the room first, but Sherlock took a second to look at the man shaking under his grip. "Leave. Her. Alone." Barrymore swallowed, and with that Sherlock left the office, stepping out into the hallway as Brigadier Tyler was sending an older woman away.

"Was that Alyssa?" Sherlock questioned.

"Captain Hart, new friend." Brigadier Tyler replied curtly. She looked around and frowned. "Where is John?"

"Main labs getting a start on the investigation," Sherlock answered, wondering why she seemed more worried than usual about the location of his friend. He thought he was rather good company but apparently not.

"You're headed in that direction?" Sherlock nodded. "Do you mind if I join you in a few minutes? I have to go talk to Alyssa about UNIT arriving in the morning, but I'd love to help your investigation in any way I can."

"Of course, you have John's number don't you?"

"No, I gave him mine but he doesn't have it anymore either, don't worry though, I'll find you two," Brigadier Tyler assured, walking down the hall to the lift. She turned around while she waited for it to open and smiled at Sherlock over her shoulder.


	8. Experiments and Distractions

Rose hurried through her meeting with Alyssa and Captain Hart, glad the two females could put aside there differences and focus on their mutual hate of Baskerville. She had covertly called Mycroft while Sherlock and Barrymore talked, telling him she needed permission to remove Major Barrymore from director. This had led to a minor argument over whether or not Rose was overreacting, but Rose was in no mood to play with Mycroft. She told him UNIT was taking over and she would contact the Queen herself if he was going to be difficult, making it plain that she was doing this with or without his permission.

It was going to be a rather large headache, one she was hoping to push onto Colonel Ainsley, while she trusted everyone in UNIT, she thought he would be best suited for running a whole facility.

Before she arrived in Sherlock's Universe, the UNIT here was meager, consisting of one over worked field team and ten office workers. Mycroft didn't put her in charge of the modest department until she had been working there for two years, but everyone had been reporting to Rose for a year anyways so it was expected and the General running it happily stepped into retirement. Now, Rose oversaw training, filing paper work, field work, and communications with other departments. She had personally trained all of the current trainers and Mycroft and her were the ones to decide when rookies could join one of UNITs twenty-five field teams. Rose knew Mycroft had truly given her the dream job, which was why she didn't fight him on too many things.

As Rose made her way back to the lifts, having discussed relocation with each alien she could communicate with, her mobile went off. When she looked down and saw it wasn't Mycroft's number, she hesitated to answer but was curious so...

"Brigadier Rose Tyler, who is this?"

"Rose!" Rose immediately recognized the distressed voice as John and started running for the lift.

"John! Where are you? Whats wrong?"

"The big lab on the first floor! The one we saw on the tour." John gasped, then started to whimper. "It's here, Rose. The Hound is in here with me." Rose slammed her hand on level -1, definitely hearing growling in the background as well as John's labored breathing. She was worried he may pass out.

"John, I'm on my way. Talk me through what you're seeing okay?" She kept her voice soothing, but her heart was beating rapidly in worry.

"I can't see anything, I'm in one of the cages."

"So you're safe?" Rose said, to reassure both of them.

"No!" John said frantically in a whisper. "It can hear me, Rose."

"But it can't see you, John, yeah? You can't see it."

"No. I can..." Rose heard scrambling on the phone, and a loud smack as John dropped the phone.

Rose cursed and put the phone in her pocket, darting out the lift as the doors opened, then stumbling as the bright light blinded her. "John!" Rose shouted, getting her bearings and locating Sherlock and John by the cages. Rose released a sigh of relief and ran towards the two of them, throwing her arms around John's neck and squeezing tightly as he returned the hug. "God you scared me!" Rose exclaimed, then slapped his arm, not hard but enough. "Was that some trick or somethin'? It wasn't very funny!"

"It was the hound, Rose," John said, breathlessly. Rose stepped back and took in her friend's state. He was still breathing irregularly and was panic-stricken, John's eyes kept darting around the room as if to catch sight of the missing animal. "It must...Did.. did you see it?" John turned to Sherlock, his voice becoming high-pitched. "You must have!"

Rose glanced to Sherlock to notice he was oddly calm for his best and only friend to be so freaked out. Just looking at John was spiking Rose's heart-rate, and while she felt a connection to him, John was still a new friend, so for Sherlock to stand there silently was rather suspicious. He must have known that because he wouldn't meet her gaze.

"It's all right. It's okay now."

John grew frantic and hysterical at Sherlock's pathetic soothing strategy. "NO IT'S NOT! IT'S NOT OK-"

"John," Rose stopped him, grabbing his soldiers and shaking him. "Breathe." Rose ordered, using her Brigadier voice to tap into John's military instincts. He followed her words and stood up straighter.

"Well, what did you see?" Sherlock asked, stepping between Rose and John.

"I told you, I saw the hound." John continues to breathe deeply.

"Huge; red eyes?"

"Yes."

"Glowing?"

"Yeah."

"No."

"What?" John and Rose asked at the same time.

"I made up the bit about glowing," Sherlock said, sounding quiet proud of himself. "You saw what you expected to see because I told you. You have been drugged. We have all been drugged." Sherlock looked between Rose and John, meeting Rose's skeptical gaze with a defiant one. "John, can you walk?"

"'Course I can walk," John said shakily. Rose moved next to him, wrapping her arm around his like usual and not saying anything when he leaned on her heavily.

"Come on, then. It's time to lay this ghost." Sherlock whirled around and threw the doors open into the next lab, apparently knowing where he was going in the building he'd be in once.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock entered the next lab, then continued walking when he didn't find the person he was looking from, but in the next room, after throwing that door open also, he did. John and Ms. Tyler followed in quieter, leaning against the back wall to watch and let John catch his breath.

"Oh. Back again?" Doctor Stapleton asked, she was surrounded by small cages with a fluffy rabbit in her hands. "What's on your mind this time?"

"Murder, Doctor Stapleton. Refined, cold-blooded murder," Sherlock answered with a grin, reaching behind Ms. Tyler's head and flipping the light switch. Even with the emergency lighting, it was still enough to show Bluebell brightly glowing green. Sherlock turned the lights on and smirked at the irritated doctor. "Will you tell little Kristy what happened to Bluebell or shall I?"

"What do you want?" Stapleton asked, narrowing her eyes at him but flicking her eyes to Ms. Tyler who had approached the glowing bunny in reverence.

"Can I borrow your microscope?"

"My personal lab is through those doors." Stapleton pointed to the doors in the back of the room, picking up Bluebell to put back in the cage. Sherlock and John turned away and headed for the door, but from behind him, Sherlock heard Brigadier Tyler talking to the doctor.

"I'd like to hold her if that'd be alright? Maybe bring her into the lab so I could look over some things too?" She had adopted her Brigadier voice, so Stapleton had little choice but to agree.

Once in the lab, Sherlock tuned out John's questions until he left him alone. Focusing all of his attention on the sugar, paid no attention to the other three occupants in the room. He was growing increasingly exasperated at the results, but was abruptly thrown from his thoughts by Brigadier Tyler's voice.

"Where did you get the idea?" She asked, having put Bluebell away and now going over her files. "With your access I'm sure you've seen some _things_ , so why are you focusing on changing genes? You may not have heard yet, but all projects revolving _regeneration_ have been canceled until further notice as of this afternoon."

Sherlock looked up from the microscope to observe the two women, John in the back of the room taking a cup of water. Brigadier Tyler was standing straight with her back to Sherlock, but he had a clear view of Stapleton's intimidated and ashamed face. There were several double meanings hidden in Brigadier Tyler's accusation, but he couldn't pick up on them.

"It was Aequoria Victoria."

The tension in Brigadier Tyler's shoulder evaporated and Sherlock could perfectly picture the smile crossing her face. "Jellyfish genes! The bioluminescence one too! And you added it to a rabbit? How'd you go about switching genes and did you try it on other fish first? How'd that go?" By this point John had joined in the conversation and looking at Brigadier Tyler like she had two heads, bringing some tension back into her shoulders. She had spoken English but John was acting like she hadn't, thoroughly making her uncomfortable.

"Stop it, John," Sherlock snapped, making all three of them jump and John to look down guiltily and Ms. Tyler to turn around. At first, she looked at him with no little amount of suspicion, but then she must have seen something because she broke into the brightest smile Sherlock had ever seen that he couldn't stop it this time as he smiled back. He watched, enchanted, as Ms. Tyler sucked in a sharp breath at his smile and her pupils dilated, or they hadn't. Sherlock wasn't sure for once because just as quickly as they seemed to dilate, her smile dropped and she turned away from him with disdain.

"We've just done it with rabbits and marlins so far, just messing with the genes for fun and to see if we can, honestly," Stapleton answered Ms. Tyler's question. Sherlock tried to refocus on the sugar and the microscope.

"Why?" John asked.

"Why not? We don't ask questions like that here. It isn't done," Doctor Stapleton answered, however despite Ms. Tyler's earlier excitement about the gene manipulation, she hummed unhappily at this comment.

"There was a mix-up, anyway. My daughter ended up with one of the lab specimens, so poor Bluebell had to go."

John and Ms. Tyler looked at the woman with objection. "Your compassion's overwhelming," Ms. Tyler deadpanned.

"I know. I hate myself sometimes," Stapleton replied mockingly.

"So, come on then. You can trust me -I'm a doctor," John started, and from the corner of his eye, Sherlock saw Ms. Tyler flinch and looked to her once again. "What else have you got hidden away down here?" Sherlock could see the side of Ms. Tyler's face now and watched her eyes train on Stapleton, giving silent orders that John was missing. Sherlock shook his head and threw the thought of everyone else out of his mind, he didn't get distracted this easily and that thought was distracting him also.

He was growing more and more frustrated, the confirmation he was seeking was being elusive and there was a blonde woman who wouldn't leave his conscious thoughts. Had he been able to enter his mind palace while looking for some type of poison in the sugar he would have simply to find a way to ignore Ms. Tyler, but he couldn't.

With a exasperated sigh, Sherlock took out another slide. Ms. Tyler moved three steps closer to him and was now watching him instead of monitoring what Stapleton was saying. Sherlock stared intently at his latest slide, finding all the typical chemicals found in sugar across the world, nothing special.

Furious, Sherlock stood up, snatched the latest slide out from under the 'scope and hurled it against the nearest wall. "It's not there!" He hissed, whirling around to find Ms. Tyler a lot closer than he was prepared for. Behind her, Stapleton and John both made startled exclamations, but she stood before him unfazed, simply curious.

"What were you looking for?"

"A drug. There has to be a drug - a hallucinogenic or a deliriant of some kind. There's no trace of anything in the sugar, it doesn't make any sense." Ms. Tyler moved around Sherlock and took one of the intact slide to examine it herself.

"Sugar?" John asked, stepping beside Ms. Tyler.

"The sugar, yes," Sherlock said, wishing John would hurry to catch up. "It's a simple process of elimination. I saw the hound - saw it as my imagination expected me to see it: a genetically engineered monster. But I knew I couldn't believe the evidence of my own eyes, so there were seven possible reasons for is, the most possible being narcotics. Henry Knight - he saw it too but you didn't, John. You didn't see it. Now, we have eaten and drunk exactly the same things since we go to Grimpen apart from one thing: you don't take sugar in your coffee." This was the part Sherlock wasn't looking forward to considering how sensitive John is about his experiments. However, John didn't catch on immediately, while Ms. Tyler had stood up and was staring at the side of Sherlock's face with a look of displeasure he chose to ignore.

"I see. So..."

"I took it from Henry's kitchen - his sugar." Sherlock stepped around Ms. Tyler, meeting her glare with one of his own before picking up her slide and slamming it down. "It's perfectly all right."

"But maybe it's not a drug."

"No, it _has_ to be a drug."

"Why?" John asked, glancing at Ms. Tyler.

"Yeah, Sherlock, why does it have to be sugar?" Ms. Tyler moved away from Sherlock and stood with her arms crossed next to John, looking like a rather pissed off, and dangerous, little sister. Sherlock looked away to Doctor Stapleton, but Ms. Tyler cleared her throat pointedly.

"It had to. It was an experiment," Sherlock defended himself to Ms. Tyler, who looked even more upset at his admission.

"You can't just use people like that!" She exclaimed, a becoming blush of anger blooming on her cheeks.

"Use People?-" John started to ask but then his eyes widened, then narrowed and he whirled on Sherlock. "You locked me in that bloody lab?!" John asked, surging forward and grasping Sherlock's collar, till Ms. Tyler took his shoulder and pulled him back. He'd been hit once by John and was not looking forward to the next time, so Sherlock was grateful when Ms. Tyler left her hand on John's shoulder. "I was terrified, Sherlock. I was scared to death!" John yelled. Sherlock raised his hands between them, truly feeling sorry for scaring his friends but it _was_ a necessary evil.

"It was all l totally scientific, laboratory conditions - literally." Sherlock grinned even as John's eyes narrowed, but he hadn't kept a close enough watch on Ms. Tyler.

*SMACK*

Sherlock groaned. It felt like his face was on fire. He had to lean against the lab table to stand up straight for a second. It was such a quick slap, and efficient one, that it took his brain a second to catch up with the action and understand why his cheek had gone numb.

"You arsehole!" Rose screeched before he could react to her first attack. "Your friends are not to be used as laboratory rats, Sherlock Holmes, especially without their consent! Goldfishes or not, we are all sentiment-beings with emotions and just because you're brilliant does not give you the right to make choices for other people!"

Sherlock watched, dumbstruck for the first time in his life, while Rose Tyler yelled at him. He'd never seen anything like it. He'd been yelled at, screamed at, slapped around a few times- he was a rude person after all- but nothing like this. Rose Tyler yelled at you, and you knew you'd done something wrong, terrible, to have upset a woman like her. It wasn't just that he was feeling guilty, a rare emotion for him, but she was radiant while she yelled. Brigadier Tyler was a responsible, put together woman that Sherlock was starting to admire very much, but Rose Tyler? She was dangerous. Rose Tyler was the part of the woman that made him think of wolves.

Before Rose could go on, John wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Thank you, Rose, but we've got to finish this case and you're wasting your breath."

John pulled Rose into his side while she took a deep breath for a short hug, throwing one last glare Sherlock's way Rose stepped away and walked to Bluebell. Sherlock and John watched as she walked away, then Sherlock turned away when he felt John watching him. Sherlock read a lot in his friend's face, but chose to ignore all but the determination to finish this case.

"It has to be the sugar, John, otherwise you would have seen the hound too." Sherlock sat on a nearby stool and buried his head in his hands, attempting to get his thoughts in order. He was still rattled by that slap and distracted by Rose in the corner. "But how did it get into our systems. How?" Sherlock raised his head but kept his hands covering his mouth. He was missing something, the steps to the answer were all there but because of a woman, again, he couldn't find it. "There has to be something..." Rose turned around and faced him, more calm now but still looking hurt by his actions. Sherlock closed his eyes. "Something.. something.. Something buried deep." Sherlock took in a sharp breath, deciding the only way to focus with Rose around was to go to his Mind Palace. He turned and pointed at Stapleton. "Get out."

"What?" She asked. She had been standing watching the three of them interact with minimal interest, but started when he singled her out.

"Get out," Sherlock repeated, motioning towards the door. "I need to go to my Mind Palace."

"Your what?" Stapleton asked incredulously, but John was already standing up straight and corralling her out the door. Sherlock turned his head away again and stared at the wall in front of him, slowly leaving the world around him.

"He's not gonna be doing much talking for a while. We may as well go. Rose?"

Sherlock breathed deeply and focused his thoughts, not hearing her reply.


	9. Mind TARDIS

"I'll catch up," Rose called to John, placing Bluebell back in his cage. She needed a moment to herself also, and with Sherlock distracted she might as well be alone.

"You sure?" John asked, she nodded.

Rose had felt his pleasure but also worry for her when Rose yelled at Sherlock. Had John ever been exposed to any changed energy, perhaps the rift or extreme radiation, Rose was sure he would have become an empath also simply by his intuitiveness in that field already. John knew Rose was sticking up for him, but she also wasn't mad just on John's behalf. He was right, of course.

It had been a long, emotional day for Rose, and hearing she had another genius on her hands making decisions for people simply pushed her over the edge. Yet it wasn't even that. Or maybe it was. Again, it had been a long day and tapping into the Bad Wolf left her hormones raging.

Her thoughts had to be just as mucked up as Sherlock's, which was why she understood his need to use the mind loci method. Her second Doctor had explained the method to her, he used it to some extent but with his Time Lord memory she had only noticed a few times, and it was those times that he taught it to her. While Sherlock had his Mind Palace, she had her Mind TARDIS. She didn't use it often, her cases weren't like Sherlock's where she needed to notice and remember every detail, but it was a nice way to regroup herself.

So while Sherlock sat on his stool with his fingers to his lips, Rose slid down the wall, sat cross-legged and placed her hands on her knees.

Breathing deeply, the laboratory faded to metal walls and coral grew from the floor to the ceiling. With a sigh, she mentally opened her eyes and smiled at Nine. It was always him, had always been him.

"Alyssa will stay, help run Baskerville with that Colonel," He said, that thick Northern accent soothing her just as much as his arrogant attitude. He was standing next to the controls, not leaning against it like her second Doctor did. Always put together, always in control.

"Think so?" She smiled at him.

"You do." This made Rose frown and roll her eyes, and it was also why it was Nine not Ten. Ten would have indulged her, but her first Doctor made sure she knew where she was.

"Yeah."

"Of course the Tivolis will too, nothing for him to go back to anyways. Maybe the Mentor. No matter how passive the Ood is though, you send him home. And you know how to handle the Tetraps and Solonians."

"Yeah." The Doctor reached out and helped Rose off the floor, then started pacing. "And the Major?"

"You've already dealt with him, why bring him up?" The Doctor asked, giving her the 'you're being too human' look.

"He saw my eyes."

"And?"

Rose rolled her eyes again and stepped in front of the Doctor. "And what if he says something. No human knows, I need it to stay that way. Mycroft can only protect me from so much."

The Doctor grinned down at Rose, ear to ear, the smile for her. "What do you need protection for anyway? You're Rose Tyler."

"He won't say anything then?"

The Doctor blew air through his lips and started walking around the TARDIS, Rose followed, running her hands down the coral. It looked the same, but it wasn't.

"This was easy." The Doctor glanced at Rose but continued circling. "Trying to figure out this case too? Trying to show off to the pretty boys again, Rose Tyler?" They both stopped and turned to each other angrily. "It's rather obvious isn't it, he's practically realized it himself."

"He's just like you."

The Doctor harrumphed and puffed out his chest. "He's human."

"He doesn't have emotions like the rest of us."

"Everyone thinks their special." Cue roll of eyes and exasperated movement of his arms. "Stop being so human, I don't want to talk emotions."

"You're not, you're dead," Rose bit back angrily, but then regretted it when she felt the pain hit her chest while the Doctor just looked on. She took several deep breaths before continuing. "I don't want to get hurt again."

"Well _I_ didn't do anything!" The Ninth Doctor complained, pointing at his chest. "It was the pretty boy!"

"Oi!" A voice echoed in the hallway, but Rose threw up her hands and both of them disappeared before she had to face him.

Now without any boys around, Rose walked around the controls and sat in the captain's seat, propping her feet on the railing and smiling up at the rotor. She hummed and her sister responded with the rotor going up and down and the lights flashed. Rose grinned happily and reached over to run her hand down the railing.

"You're here, aren't you?" Rose whispered. "With him, with them, it's in my head, but you're already there."

The lights flashed.

"I'm going to get hurt again."

The lights dimmed.

"I will!" Rose complained. "Last night he called feelings the grit on the lens, for Gods sake. A genius with no feelings who is willing to use any means necessary to get what he wants." The rotor started going again in protest. "Okay okay, that wasn't true. They just, know how they feel and think thats right no matter what."

The lights flashed.

"Sherlock is just like that."

The lights dimmed.

"You don't know him." The rotor started again. "Yeah alright. You know him just as much as me, I get it." Rose lifted her hand and ran it down her face. "He has feelings, I've felt them, hell I can see them in his eyes most of the time. Just like the Doctor. Geniuses and their feelings, yeah?"

The lights lit up very bright that time, making Rose laugh.

"He'll hold back just like the Doctor did." The floor shook, throwing Rose to the floor. "Hey! He will, he can't even say he has a friend!" Rose stood up and wrapped her hand around the railing. "If I break again, that's it. I can't come back from that again." The room flooded with warmth for a few seconds, her sister offering the closest thing she could to a hug. "I'm going to leave him alone."

The lights turned off.

"It's the easiest solution." Luckily, Rose was still holding on as the floor shook again. Rose closed her eyes until the shaking stopped, and when she opened them, Nine was back.

"You're Rose Tyler," He growled, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking them. "Bad Wolf doesn't kneel to any pretty boys. And Rose Tyler, well the slap from earlier was her, not the Brigadier or the Bad Wolf, so I don't know what you're doing being afraid of some human. You're fantastic."

"And so were you," Rose whispered back.

The lights brightened, then continued to grow, and with one last hum of the song within her, Rose left her Mind TARDIS with a grin.

Rose lifted her head from leaning on the wall and opened her eyes with a deep breath and a nod to herself.

"Welcome, back." Rose turned her head and saw Sherlock watching her in open curiosity and appreciation. "You've mastered the mind loci method?"

"I had a good teacher," She replied with a nostalgic smile. It took her a while to be comfortable in the place her mind went to, especially because she had so little control of the characters coming in and out, but it became refreshing to have old friends still helping her out.

Rose stood up and stepped towards Sherlock, watching him watch her. She hadn't expected to still be in her Mind TARDIS when Sherlock exited his Mind Palace and was a little embarrassed to be caught in a vulnerable situation. Not that Sherlock seemed inclined to bother her, he seemed to have been watching her the whole time. Rose wondered what she looked like during that time, she'd only watched the Doctor in his a few times, and he was so quick it wasn't much to see.

"What were you looking for?" Sherlock asked, standing from the stool and walking a few steps closer.

"Nothing, I don't use it for memory purposes often even if it's what its used for. I've found it helps me gather my scattered thoughts and clear up emotions," Rose explained, leaning a hip against the table.

Sherlock cocked his head to the side. "And you needed to do that?"

"Yes." Rose hopped he wouldn't ask her to elaborate, she was a fantastic liar for important things, but she tended to wear her feelings on her sleeves.

Sherlock didn't ask, just observed her some more. Rose knew she had piqued his interest and she was now just as much a puzzle he needed solved as this case was. He had been aware of every movement she made, and she in turn had been hyper-aware of his eyes on her. She thought she could predict where his thoughts were going, by the movement of his eyes he should have been searching for more clues, instead Sherlock shocked her again.

"I'm sorry."

He said it quickly, and broke eye contact immediately, but Rose could feel the emotion behind it. "For what?" Rose asked, confused.

"You're right, it was wrong what I did to John, callous," Sherlock explained, glancing up while he spoke but then looking back down at the end. She could sense his hesitancy to apologize, but also the shame he felt, so she took pity on him and took the last step between them and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You're forgiven, though I'm not really the one that needs your apology." Rose smiled as Sherlock looked up to her.

"It doesn't reach you eyes." Sherlock blurted out, the deduction apparently hitting him so unexpectedly it shocked him. He leaned back, not far enough that her hand fell from his shoulder, but enough to properly meet her eyes. Rose wasn't sure what he meant, but the concern growing around Sherlock was frightening.

"What?" Rose asked hesitantly, thinking it would be a good idea if she stepped back and reasserted space.

"Your brightest smile still can't reach your eyes," Sherlock observed, flicking back and forth between her hazel eyes as though they held the answer.

She had a sudden, inappropriate, bad timing, thought pop into her head as he stared at her eyes like a chess board- his reaction if she changed her eyes to Bad Wolf's right then. The thought elicited a giggle to burst past her lips, snapping both of them out of their thoughts.

Sherlock stood up straighter and took a step away from Rose. For her part, Rose let her arm drop back to her side and looked toward the door.

"So did you find what you were looking for?" Rose asked, getting back on track faster than Sherlock, who she could feel still staring at her. His emotions were a jumbled mess also, so she couldn't guess his thoughts, but at her comment everything but determination faded away.

"I need to break into the Major's laptop," Sherlock explained. Rose grinned and started walking.

"I hope he is still here, I'd love to kick him out again." Behind her, Rose felt Sherlock delight, so she turned around to catch sight of his grin.

"Your's reaches your eyes," Rose pointed out, glad when his smile didn't slip.

"Your's is more common," Sherlock replied, reaching over her to hold the door open, keeping his eyes on her.

"Guess we'll have to assist one another."

"It would appear so."


	10. Project HOUND

John and Doctor Stapleton had been waiting in the next lab patiently, not getting past John's questions on Baskerville, but the woman was very close-lipped so John eventually gave up. When Sherlock and Rose walked in, it took longer to process what Sherlock wanted to do because John was too focused on the fact his friend had walked in smiling. While it had started to appear more often, it was still such an uncommon sight that John had to hurry to catch up with the group headed towards the Major's office.

"John," Sherlock instructed as they walked through the door.

"Yeah, I'm on it." John stood closest to the door to keep an eye out while Stapleton sat in front of the computer.

"Project HOUND," Sherlock said, mainly to himself. Stapleton sat at the chair typing in her password. "Must have read about it and stored it away. An experiment in a CIA facility in Liberty, Indiana." A request to 'Enter Search String' came up on the screen and Stapleton looked up at Sherlock expectantly. " D." Doctor Stapleton typed while Sherlock spoke, but when she pressed Enter, a message came up saying 'NO ACCESS. CIA CLASSIFIED.'

"That's as fas as my access goes, I'm afraid." Stapleton spun in the chair and looked at them all apologetically.

"Well, there must be an override and password," John pointed out, Rose nodded and stepped towards Stapleton. He watched her while Sherlock turned away and walked around the office searching for clues.

"I imagine so, but that'd be Major Barrymore's."

John heard Sherlock walk around the room, rummaging through the personal items, but was far more entertained by Rose ushering Stapleton out of the chair and plopping down in it herself. With a few clicks and a new password entered, information on the Project H.O.U.N.D. filled the screen.

"Hannibal; Wellington; Rommel; Churchill's "History of the English-Speaking Peoples" -all four volumes." Stapleton, Rose and John all turned to Sherlock, Rose cleared her throat and he looked up.

"That's- very good, Rose," Sherlock nodded, putting the bust of Winston Churchill down. John saw the signs of slight irritation of being shown up, but was proud of his friend for not acting like a child for once. "The U. N. in UNIT doesn't have anything to do with the United Nations, does it?" Sherlock asked, leaning over Rose's shoulder and glancing down at her with _another_ grin. John wouldn't have believed it had he not been standing there watching.

"UNIT? Never heard of it," Rose replied with a cheeky grin that only had Sherlock grinning wider.

John came over from the door to look at the screen and observe the two better. He had noticed Sherlock growing more comfortable around Rose, but he had thought her slap from earlier had ruined that progress. Once again, he was wrong and thoroughly confused by his friend.

The information on Project H.O.U.N.D. flew past the screen, but luckily everyone in the room was use to the speed of the internet and could easily keep up with Sherlock's research. Sherlock was concentrated completely on the screen, but out of the corner of his eye, John could catch Rose looking from the screen, to Sherlock, to John, grinning happily to herself. A photograph comes up of the project team posing happily together and Sherlock pointed out the leaders amongst the large group and their last name acronym forming the word 'hound'. Everyone, save for Sherlock, grows increasingly more horrified by the information shared on the screen, a few times Rose grumbled under her breath, and Doctor Stapleton had to turn away for a moment after coming across the results of one testing.

"Jesus," John said softly.

"Project H.O.U.N.D: a new deliriant drug which rendered its users incredibly suggestible. They wanted to use it as an anti-personnel weapon to totally disorientate the enemy using fear and stimulus; but they shut it down and hid it away in 1986," Sherlock summarized all the had seen.

"Because of what it did to the subjects they tested it on," Doctor Stapleton summarized.

"And what they did to others," Rose pointed out. "Pure fear causes uncontrollable responses." Sherlock nodded.

"So someone's been doing it again -carrying on the experiments?" John asked.

"Attempting to refine it, perhaps, for the last twenty years," Sherlock said. Rose leaned over his shoulder and started typing on the keyboard, John moved out of her way but Sherlock stayed next to her.

"Those names mean anything to you?" John asked Doctor Stapleton who shook her head.

"No, not a thing."

"Rose?"

"Nope," Rose popped the 'P' with a grin. John saw her eyes were focused on the picture in one spot. Rose zoomed into the photo then stepped back, John and Sherlock glanced at her, Sherlock with narrowed eyes. Rose knew the answer.

"Our friend is somewhere in the back of the picture- someone who was old enough to be there at the time of the experiment in 1986," Rose explained, no longer looking at the picture but watching Sherlock figure it out.

"I spy with my little eye," John joked to Rose, who grinned back.

"Somebody who says 'cell phone." Sherlock finished the phrase, pointing to Doctor Frankland in the back of the picture. "Because of time spent in America. He gave us his number in case we needed him."

"Oh my God. Bob Frankland. But Bob doesn't even work on... I mean, he's a virologist. This was chemical warfare." Doctor Stapleton tried to make sense of the evidence, leaning back from the group. John and Sherlock turned away from the computer, both starting to choose the next course of action.

"Gotta start some place though," Rose pointed out, leaning against the back wall.

"He's never lost the certainty, the obsession that that drug really could work. Nice of him to give us his number." Sherlock reached into his pocket and took out Doctor Frankland's card. "Let's arrange a little meeting." Sherlock stepped out of the room to make the call, while Rose and John stood next to each other staring at the computer.

Before either can start a conversation, John's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and answered the call despite not knowing the number. "Hello?"

o0oo0o0o0o

"Henry?" Sherlock asked immediately after John hung up the phone, understanding that calling Doctor Frankland was no longer the next step.

"He's attacked her," John explained, slightly shaking his head in worry and exasperation. Rose came up next to him with a concerned look on her face, however Sherlock noted her pink phone was in hand.

"She alright?"

"Gone?"

Sherlock and Rose asked at the same time, John nodded to both of them. Sherlock cleared Doctor Frankland's number off the screen and hit speed-dial, holding the phone up to his ear he waited for Lestrade to answer.

"There's only one place he'll go: back to where it all started." Once the dial tone ended and Sherlock knew he had picked up, Sherlock started talking before DI Lestrade could. "Lestrade. Get to the Hollow."

"Wha..?" Lestrade asked into the phone, sounding groggy. So much for being a good watch dog for Mycroft.

"Dewer's Hollow, now. And bring a gun." Sherlock hung up before having to deal with any pointless questions. He turned to John, who touched his hip and nodded, then to Rose. "I assume as Brigadier you have a weapon somewhere on you." Sherlock hoped she did, he wanted her to see the end of his case and thought asking her to stay here was fruitless, but bringing her into a potentially dangerous situation didn't sit well with him.

"Yeah," Rose answered, she didn't grin like John and also didn't make any indication where the weapon was. Sherlock nodded, then walked out the door, John at his heels- Rose stayed behind long enough to thank Doctor Stapleton.

The three of them raced through the facility, jumping into Rose's military issue Jeep with Sherlock in the divers seat. Sherlock tore out of the facility and down the road, finding it incredibly convenient how close Baskerville was to Dewer's Hollow, however it was unlucky that the road led away from the woods to wrap back around to the front. Finally, the three of them reached the beginning of the woods and parked the car. Rose was the first out of the car, however John and Sherlock took the lead since she didn't know where she was going.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose, Sherlock, and John, sprinted through the forest, each of them equally skilled at distanced running, however Rose had more experience running in this terrain and found she had to pull back to allow Sherlock to lead, but once they got close enough that Rose could feel Henry's wired emotions, she didn't hold back and reached the hollow first.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Dad," Henry whispered, his lips against the pistol and his despair, confusing, and fear spiking in the air, drowning out all others.

"No, Henry, no! No!" Rose shouted, barreling into the hollow, practically falling into it, with Sherlock and John making a more graceful but equally hurried entrance behind her, their torches illuminating the dark area.

Henry stood up quickly, then stumbled backwards, waving the pistol in Rose's direction as she was the closest, but John stepped forward and brought the attention away from her. Henry's eyes were wide and Rose felt his fear taking over all his other emotions that had been waging wars against one another.

"Get back. Get - get away from me!" Henry's voice was high-pitched, hysterical, and his fear was growing to such levels that Rose was getting a headache herself. The whole hollow was raising in emotional levels and she found that her empathic powers were hindering her from focusing for the first time.

"Easy, Henry. Easy. Just relax." John spoke quietly, his own gun hidden behind his back while his torch focused on Henry.

"I know what I am," Henry explained desperately. "I know what I tried to do!" Rose took a step towards the scared boy, her arms raised, but when he pointed the gun to her, Sherlock pulled her back.

"Henry," She cooed. "Just put the gun down. It's okay now," Rose promised, hands still raised despite Sherlock trying to pull her further back.

"No, no! I know what I am!" His voice was breaking with anguish that briefly filled the air around Rose, before being squashed by fear again.

"Yes, I'm sure you do, Henry," Sherlock agreed. Rose finally put her arms down while Sherlock stepped in front of her and talked as softly as she thought he could manage. "It's all been explained to you, hasn't it - explained very carefully."

"What?" Henry asked, nearly sounding suspicious.

"Someone needed to keep you quiet; needed to keep you as a child to reassert the dream that you'd both clung on to, because you had started to remember." Sherlock took a step forward again while Henry slowly started to lower his gun. "Remember now, Henry. You've go to remember what happened here when you were a little boy."

"I thought it had got my dad - the hound," Henry begged them to understand, speaking slowly but desperately. "I thought..." Henry raised his hands in anguish and began to sob and scream. "Oh Je.. oh Jesus, I don't - I don't know any more!" Henry shoved the gun down his throat in hopes of giving up, but Rose had already moved around Sherlock to get to the grieving child she know viewed Henry as.

"No, Henry!" Rose cried, her arms outstretched as though she would embrace him, but Sherlock caught her around the waist as Henry looked back up with a delirious expression.

"Henry, for God's sake!" John cried.

"Henry, remember." Sherlock spoke around Rose, who struggled a moment to be released from his death grip, he put her down behind him once again, still continuing his explanation to Henry. "'Liberty In.' Two words; two words a frightened little boy saw here twenty years ago," Sherlock spoke quickly and urgently, gripping Rose's hand when she stepped away from him. Rose stopped trying to reach Henry when she could finally understand the emotions running wild and understood Sherlock was scared for her.

"You'd started to piece things together, remember what really happened here that night. It wasn't an animal, was it, Henry?" Henry looked up at Sherlock as the gun is taken out of his mouth, Sherlock smiled softly at him, no doubt trying not to relish in solving the case. "Not a Monster. A man. You couldn't cope. You were just a child, so you rationalized it into something very different." Henry gaped at Sherlock in a mixture of awe and terror as his memory realigns. His gun had finally lowered and John stepped forward to slowly take it from Henry's hand. "But then you started to remember, so you had to be stopped; driven out of your mind so that no-one would believe a word that you said."

"Sherlock," Greg's voice called out in the dark. Rose twisted around, Sherlock's grip on her hand loosening as he did as well. Behind them, John was taking care of Henry as his mental state was still up in the air and his grief was overcoming him.

"It's okay, mate," John whispered.

"But we saw it, the hound, last night. We did, we s.." Rose looked up at Sherlock, not at all surprised to feel a spike of happiness from him as he grinned at Henry's question.

"No, but there was a dog, Henry, leaving footprints, scaring witnesses, but it was nothing more than an ordinary dog. We both saw it - saw it as our drugged minds wanted us to see it. Fear and stimulus; that's how it works." Henry stared at Sherlock in confusion, and Rose was quite impressed when she saw Sherlock return the look sympathetically. "But there never was any monster."

Nearly, immediately after Sherlock finished his speech, snarling and howling filled the forest and all the men looked up and around the hollow for the source. Rose however, was stuck with a blaring headache as all emotions in the hollow turned to pure fear that tasted wrong. Had she not already believed Sherlock, just having a slice of the emotions in the air would have proven to her they all had to be drugged.

John and Greg aimed their flashlights upwards to the top of the Hollow where a low shape could be seen slowly stalking along the rim, snarling at them. "Sherlock," John called, waiting for an explanation no doubt.

Rose turned to Sherlock to catch his expression of disbelief as Henry turned towards the detective as well. "No." Quickly, Henry's emotions grew to effect the others in the hollow as his panic rose. "No no no no!" Sherlock kept a calming hand toward Henry while keeping watch on the animal, Henry backing up at the same time, shaking from head to toe.

"Henry, Henry..." Sherlock started, failing to explain the situation.

"Sherlock..." John's emotions had started leaning towards panic as well, and Rose could feel the drug effecting her calm mind. Her hand hovered around her back, unconsciously prepared to pull out the miniaturized cyber-man gun that Rose had never needed to use on a case.

"No no nooo!" Henry was screeching and crying, collapsing to the floor in a fluster of emotions.

"Henry!" John called, managing to stay nearly level-headed while the animal turned toward the Hollow and looked at the group with glowing red eyes in the torchlight. Henry continued to wail while the rest of the group tried to make sense of what they were seeing.

"Shit!" Greg exclaimed, staring up at the rim.

John turned to Greg in surprise, shinning his torch in his face. "Greg, are you seeing this?"

Greg didn't have to answer of course, his expression was the same as all of their's. Sherlock took a quick look to examine the inspector to see his face then turned to stare at the hound. Rose was caught between acting on drugged instincts to shoot the threat down, or staying behind the men to be closest to which ever entered immediate danger.

"Right: he is not drugged, Sherlock, so what's that? What is it?!" Rose was too distracted by Henry's moaning, to try to calm John down, despite not being in any condition to do so anyways.

"All right," Sherlock exclaimed, flustered as well. "It's still here. But it's just a dog. Henry! It's nothing more than an ordinary dog!" Rose watched Sherlock manage to pull himself together enough to comfort his friends and the delirious man, and started to do the same, taking steadying breaths and walking out in front of the group of men with hands on their guns. The animal raised its head and lets out a long terrifying howl.

"Oh my God." Greg stumbled backwards, Rose now in front of the group and still advancing. The Hound turned and leapt a short way down the slope, it's eyes flashing red in the torchlight.

"Oh, Christ!"

"Rose!"

Rose ignored John and Greg and continued toward the animal, continuing to take deep breaths and breaking away from the other's emotions. The animal was now on the same level as her, it eyes staring at her with an open mouth that revealed a mouthful of long pointed teeth. It snarled at her, and with a blink of her eyes, Bad Wolf snarled back.

Bad Wolf stared at the dog until it laid down in front of her with a whine. Her addled mind calmed, as well as the threat. Bad Wolf blinked and Rose turned away from the dog to the men behind her. She took them in, Sherlock staring at her with his arm still partially raised. Henry sobbing. John taking slow, quiet steps toward her. Greg raking a hand through his hair.

A Dalek behind them.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose turned away from the dog, that they could all see as a domesticated dog breed and not another canine. Despite getting over his fear from watching her walk towards what his addled brain thought was a monster, Sherlock couldn't distinguish the other emotions that went through him now that Rose wasn't in danger, but was facing him with a ghost of a smile and something that was fading from her eyes. Adrenaline, an unknown drug, and fear kept him from thinking thoroughly, but it was there again.

Wolf. Goddess. Wolf.

Sherlock lowered his arm as he watched Rose watch them, taking them in as the fear ebbed away. But just as quickly as it left, it returned as Sherlock watched all the color drain from Rose's face. It was as though she gave up in front of him, her shoulder drooped, mouth parted, and eyes widen slightly with relaxed eyebrows. It wasn't fear, it was horror, unadulterated horror written on her face.

"No," she whimpered.

Sherlock tore his eyes away from the blonde woman, as did John and Greg, while Henry slowly approached the whimpering dog. Stalking toward them, slowly with quiet steps, was a man in a gas mask, however that wasn't what Rose was seeing. While she could see past the dog, she too must have been drugged because there was something she saw that elicited an amount of fear Sherlock was sure only Henry could relate to.

"Rose, it's okay," Sherlock promised, starting to walk toward the gas masked man, glancing over his shoulder to find the horror was gone from Rose's face. Instead, Brigadier Tyler stared past him with an expression of both acceptance and determination with an odd shaped gun in her hands.

"Sherlock, get away from it," Rose demanded, following Sherlock's steps.

"It's the drug, Rose, whatever you see, it's.. not.. No." Sherlock had finally reached the gas masked man, and gripped his shoulder with the intention of bringing him before Rose, however, upon holding his shoulder, Sherlock caught a glance of the face inside. Ripping the mask upwards, Jim Moriarty grinned manically back at him.

"No!" Sherlock said in horror. Moriarty's expression was intense, nearly murderous, but his head was shaking back and forth. Before his eyes, Sherlock watched the face morph between two, so quickly Sherlock closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's not you!" Sherlock opened his eyes frantically. "You're not here!" He grabbed Moriarty and spun him around and head butted him. Moriarty crumpled and raised a hand to his face to wipe of the blood, but then the man in front of Sherlock wasn't Jim Moriarty, but Bob Frankland.

Sherlock grabbed onto Frankland's jacket, his breathing panicked. Sherlock shook Frankland, prepared to beat the man to keep him from transforming back into Moriarty, but then her focused on Frankland's lack of defense or offense. The doctor had clamped his hand over his mouth and nose and the mist hit his newly exposed face, and then it clicked into place.

"The fog."

"What?" John asked from behind Sherlock.

"It's the fog! The drug: it's in the fog! Aerosol dispersal that's what it said in those records. Project HOUND - it's the fog! A chemical minefield!" Sherlock said all of this into Frankland's face, then spun around and sprinted to Rose. She was still staring at Frankland, the gun poised to shoot, so Sherlock stepped in her view and cupped both of her cheeks to get her to focus. "It's the fog, Rose," Sherlock whispered to Rose, watching slowly, as the color returned to her cheeks and her eyes flitted away from Frankland to focus on Sherlock.

"The fog," she repeated, lowering her gun.

"You bastard!" Henry screamed behind Sherlock, tearing his and Rose's eyes away from each other. Sherlock's hands were still on Rose and could feel her heart rate lowering from where it had been, but still higher than usual. Somehow, he managed to move away from her to finish this case. But once this case was finished, he was determined to solve Rose Tyler.


	11. Goodbye For Now

Waking was no less hard for Rose the following morning, despite having an exciting night she had not slept well in the Inn's bed and when she had fallen asleep, she had been woken by her own thrashing as she relived her many encounters with the Daleks. It was sure to be an exciting morning with the arrival of most of UNIT in Dartmoor, but Rose didn't rise from the bed until she heard her neighbors moving around.

Exiting her room at the same time as Sherlock and John didn't faze either of the men, instead John greeted Rose warmly and asked after her sleep while Sherlock stayed quiet, heading in the direction of coffee.

"I slept alright," Rose answered with a grin. "And you?"

"When I finally fell asleep, it was good," John replied, following Sherlock to the bar. Across the room, Greg spotted them and made his way towards them. "Hullo, Greg."

"G'morning, Greg," Rose greeted, accompanying her words with a hug. "You're not headed out too are you?"

"Afraid so." Greg nodded.

"Well, I guess the Yard would fall apart without you," Rose teased, all three ignoring but rolling their eyes at Sherlock's scoff. "Stay for breakfast at least, won't you?"

"But they don't sell bacon," Greg complained even as Gary walked out and laughed.

"We got a lot of extra meat now, its no trouble fixin' something up just this once," Gary said, handing Sherlock two cups, who then handed John one of them.

"Extra meat? Are you putting the dog down?" John asked.

"Nah, couldn't manage it the first time," Gary said, then motioned toward Rose who felt the eyes land on her. "M'lady said she could find a good home for the pup."

"Hardly, a pup," Greg muttered, though he too was looking at Rose in surprise.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you're such an animal person, Rose," John joked, nudging the slightly red Rose.

"Well large scary dogs like that do help in the military, so long as they can train them."

"You don't train them?" Gary asked.

"Nope," Rose answered with a pop, not giving any more information, especially as she felt Sherlock's eyes linger on her longer than John and Greg. "May I have tea, please?"

After receiving their orders, the group moved outside to one of the benches, Sherlock sitting down next to Rose as though it was normal, though she was acutely aware of his presence. They all ate and drank in silent for a minute, until Sherlock couldn't hold it in any longer.

"So if you don't train dogs what do you do?" Sherlock turned toward Rose, who was chewing on her eggs when he asked, so he observed her cover her mouth and raise an eyebrow at the question.

"You don't know?" Greg exclaimed like it was Christmas, causing Rose and John to chuckle. "Rose was recently appointed as Brigadier." Rose had to smile when she detected Greg's pride in her success.

"I knew that," Sherlock snapped. "But what did she do to to be elevated to that status at twenty-six?"

"Thirty actually," Rose pointed out with a smile, deciding to be complimented instead of insulted. "I'm a good field agent, that's all."

"Hmm," Sherlock hummed. "Who is the General you report to?"

Rose sat up straight, setting her fork down and facing Sherlock, feeling she needed to adopt her Brigadier Tyler persona to answer this line of questioning. "I am the head of my section of the military, the only person I report to is the Queen, no matter my rank. It has been that way for the past three years since I became director."

"Then who told you to come here?" Sherlock pointed out.

"There are people that like to pretend they have more power than I do, and I tend to humor them if it doesn't cause too much trouble."

"Oh," Sherlock said, and Rose turned away from him again to finish her plate. She glanced over to Greg and John to catch their amused exchange and smirked into her tea. They enjoyed Sherlock being wrong, which was why she expected they would want her to stick around, but she couldn't risk that. Not with Sherlock.

"Well, I have a lot of work to do," Rose proclaimed when she finished her meal first, standing from the table. Like the gentleman they were, all three of the boys stood up as well to wish her goodbye.

"Greg, take care of yourself, yeah?" Rose hugged DI Lestrade goodbye, leaning back with a grin. "Next time I'm forced to go to a gala, you'll be my date, won't ya?"

"Only if there's chips," Greg replied with a teasing grin that had Rose laughing as she walked around him to John.

"John Watson," She gushed, looking the man over and shaking her head with a laugh. "It was been an honor, Sir Doctor." She hugged the grey haired man tightly as he did her, feeling for a moment as though she would pull away and see Mickey or Jack looking back at her, but being just as happy when she pulled back and saw John. "Don't take care of yourself, you hear me? I want weekly updates on that blog of all your near death experiences. I'll be sorely disappointed if you turn boring on me."

"We'll meet up and I'll tell you all about them instead, Sherlock doesn't let me put his mistakes online and they're the best part." John joked, squeezing Rose's arms before releasing her. She watched him glance towards his best friend and knew he expected a grand goodbye, he was a compassionate man and no doubt had an inkling about her feelings for the emotionless detective.

Rose took a deep breath, her head hurting as she sucked in all her feelings and faced Sherlock with a bright smile she knew he saw through. Rose had felt his eyes on her throughout both goodbyes, since his case had ended he hadn't stopped watching her.

At first, Rose was thrilled, for a moment, but she was older and wiser, and much more protective of her fragile heart, she learned quickly that his interest was for selfish reasons, she was his new case. Sherlock hadn't even waited to be paid by Henry before he lost interest in the damaged man, Rose would be no different except this case brought her no closure. She wouldn't - couldn't do it.

"It was wonderful to meet you, Sherlock, I'm very excited to read about your future cases, I'm sure they'll be... fantastic." She nodded to him with a grin, then turned and walked away, it was all she could manage. The whole way, she felt three pairs of eyes on her, but slowly it went to two, then just Sherlock, but still she kept walking to the Jeep. Not until she reached the Jeep and opened the door to take a breath and his lingering cologne from last night swept over her, did Rose turn and meet his relentless gaze.

o0o0o0o0o0o

That wasn't it.

Sherlock wouldn't let that be her goodbye, not after the past two days, not when she was like him, not a goldfish but still holding feelings. He didn't know why he wanted her around, why he needed more than a typical goodbye without her typical hug, but he did.

So he waited.

He didn't know anything of substance about Rose Tyler, but she always turned back.

Yet she kept walking, and Lestrade turned away, and John sat down to finish his meal, while Sherlock stood there and watched. She had to turn around. And then she reached her jeep, placed her hand on the door, and looked over her shoulder.

Like a spring had been released, Sherlock walked toward her without hesitation, keeping her gaze locked in his to ensure she wouldn't rush away again.

He stopped just in front of her, and watched those hazel eyes dilate and her breathing grow ragged, but she wasn't just any woman, so when she knew he had seen her reaction, when she noticed her own reaction, she blinked it away. Her shock was replaced with a grin, and her attraction hidden from both of them, Sherlock was sure he misread her again when Rose spoke.

"Knew I'd left a good impression on ya," Rose joked, leaning back against the jeep and crossing her arms in a relaxed pose that didn't come off as defensive or distancing like crossed arms were meant to.

"You give very serious goodbyes for people you can easily see again soon," Sherlock brought up the most serious thing he was worried about first.

"Yeah," Rose replied, once again knowing he wanted her to elaborate but making no effort to do so.

"Where are you going when you leave Dartmoor?"

"Cardiff," Rose answered immediately, though the answer seemed to surprise her as much as him.

"Cardiff?" Sherlock asked in disgust and disbelief. Rose nodded, continuing to be quiet and evasive. "Where are you going when you leave Cardiff?"

"I don't know."

"John believes he will see you soon."

"Despite telling him to delete my number, John has it and I now have his, he can call me whenever he needs to get away from you." Sherlock made an affronted expression that had Rose chuckling. "Look, Sherlock, this has been a wonderful weekend, and I know it is the word is used far too often to have any effect anymore, but 'fantastic' still means something to me so don't take what I said lightly, yeah?"

Sherlock nodded, sensing the goodbye coming once again. Rose stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, going up on her toes to reach him. He let her hug him, even lightly placed his arms on her back, but let her go just as easily.

"I'll be seeing you again, Sherlock Holmes, and I'm looking forward to it already."

"The pleasure was mine, Ms. Tyler."


	12. Adipose Industry

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Brigadier Tyler."

"Mycroft Holmes, haven't heard from you in nearly a month. I almost miss your constant nagging."

"Yes."

"How is our dear London? Surviving without me, I hope?"

"I am quite capable."

"How's the diet?"

"... That is what I'm calling about."

"Oh? Pull something while working out?"

"Ms. Tyler, I was hoping to address the situation with the Director of UNIT, not a woman playing games."

"Understood, what does your diet have to do with UNIT, Mycroft?"

"A new dietary pill has become popular in London, I found it very useful, until I stayed up late one night."

"Oh?"

"Have you ever come across Adipose Industry in your past?"

"... I have things to finish here in York, I'll be back in town tomorrow morning."

"I'll see you then."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It had been two months since he left Dartmoor and he had filled his time with meaningless cases that bored him even while he was solving them. However, John wanted to update the blog weekly and Molly had gotten in trouble for giving him too many heads so Sherlock needed the cases. Occasionally, there would be an interesting part of one of them, but nothing like Baskerville, and he couldn't help but think it was for lack of a blonde.

There had been a lull in cases, not because of his lack of trying though. He had been solving any that came to him, however that Thursday, no one had shown up on the doorstep of 221B Baker St. So Sherlock set out looking for entertainment, distraction, or nicotine.

Sherlock considered calling Mycroft to look into any cases he had, but he was always a smug prick when Mycroft went to him for help and it wouldn't do to have Mycroft being smug. He'd stopped at five drug stores on his walk, and all of them had been paid off by John, Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson not to sell him nicotine, which only made him angry and want it more. While at the store, he'd observed several people discussing the new diet plan that was most popular in London at the time, he was beginning to consider calling Mycroft just to find entertainment in asking about his diet, when a woman in a business suit bumped into him causing him to stumble and the papers she had been absorbed in to spill onto the floor.

"Sorry, mate wasn't - Sherlock?" Sherlock had continued walking after being hit from behind, not interested in finding entertainment in an unobservant woman, however he turned around when she started talking.

"Rose Tyler," Sherlock greeted with a stiff nod, bending down to help gather her papers.

"Thank you, though I suppose I should be apologizing, I was just coming up with a rather big solution for a case I'm working on and was so engrossed in the paper work I didn't see you," Rose explained, standing up with her pile of papers as he did the same.

Sherlock took a moment to observe her, noting the changes from the last time he had seen her. She'd lost weight, hadn't been sleeping well, and hadn't been in London in a long time, most likely since before meeting Sherlock and John. However, despite signs of insomnia and anxiety, Rose appeared to be healthy and in a good mood, which was most likely due to being back in London. Once Sherlock had finished, he refocused on her and caught the end of her observations of him as well, she'd been focused on his hands, which he fisted to hide the slight tremor. It was fading now that he'd found entertainment, but she'd still caught it.

Sherlock looked at the papers in his hand while Rose made a sound of disproval he ignored. "Adipose Industry? What is the government doing looking into a diet pill?" Sherlock pondered aloud, taking his time to look over the paperwork Rose had acquired, he saw something was off about it but couldn't see it right away.

"I was asked to look into it," Rose answered, shuffling the papers in her hands to discover which ones he held in his. "What are you learning from it."

"'The fat just walks away'? Not a typical slogan for a diet pill, and there are no side effects listed which cannot be true." Sherlock began listing the signs he'd seen right away, hoping to come to a bigger conclusion in the process but still failing to grasp what was missing.

"What else? Don't disappoint me, Sherlock, it took me five minutes I was hoping it'd take you less, you're at two."

Sherlock looked up to glimpse Rose smiling, then gave his full focus to the papers in front of him, it only took one more minute to find it. "They faked their records." Sherlock looked up to Rose and saw her grinning widely at him, her tongue peeking out between her teeth. Sherlock grinned back at her for a moment, then stopped and handed the papers back to her. He thumbed a page that had caught his attention and moved quick enough to have it behind his back while Rose rearranged her stack.

"So the government sent UNIT to shut it down?" Sherlock clarified distastefully, after Baskerville he'd assumed UNIT had more power than shutting corrupt organizations down. While shutting Baskerville down is impressive, a dietary facility is not.

"Exactly, however UNIT specializes in," Rose paused, looking up from the papers, observing Sherlock. He stilled, ensuring the paper behind his back didn't make a sound, she couldn't have seen him remove it, the best magician wouldn't have caught him. However, in the months since Sherlock had last spoke with Rose Tyler, he'd forgotten just how extraordinary she was. "I need that page back, Sherlock, or I'll have to arrest you for stealing from the government."

Sherlock frowned and whipped the page forward without a word. Rose laughed good heartedly, and placed the page back in its proper place, however Sherlock was taking a moment to memorize the last image he had of the page, focusing on the name he had spotted: Matron Cofeli of the Five Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Matron Cofeli was the head of Adipose, however claimed to be a nanny. Sherlock was interested already, but was watching Rose prepare to excuse herself from the conversation.

"Are you going back to UNIT now to turn in your findings?" Sherlock inquired.

"Yes and no," Rose answered, tucking the papers under her arms after clipping them together. "I have to file the paper work but as Director I don't have anyone to turn them in to," Rose explained, politely reminding Sherlock she was more powerful than he had accepted in their first few encounters. He hadn't forgotten in the time away, he hadn't forgotten a single bit of information about Rose Tyler despite his best efforts.

"Of course. And you'll be in charge of shutting the industry down?"

"Yes," Rose answered, though Sherlock noticed she seemed to consider her answer, indicating there was more to the process than what he was being told.

Rose and Sherlock stood there for a moment without speaking but without excusing themselves. It'd been two months since they'd seen each other and Sherlock couldn't explain why he was hesitant to allow her out of his sight or why he just realized that he had been accepting every case in the hopes of running across her. He acknowledged that they were oddities in this community which lent itself to feelings of kinship, however he'd felt no such feelings for his brother who was also an oddity. Sherlock could only admit that he wanted to know more about Rose Tyler and believed spending more time with her would be the best way to do so.

She apparently was thinking across the same lines. "Well, it was great to see you, Sherlock, tell John I'll call him later in the week to set up our next date, yeah?"

"Date?" Sherlock inquired harsher than he wanted to sound, however Rose shrugged and chuckled.

"Just a joke between us," She explained with an easy smile.

"You've joked about dating with Lestrade and John," Sherlock observed.

"Yup." Rose looked down at her phone as an excuse not to answer Sherlock more, missing Sherlock scowling at her evasiveness. Typically curt answers didn't bother Sherlock, he learned more from deducting than interrogating anyways, but with his inability to find anything of consequence about Rose made her short responses irritating. "I gotta go, bye Sherlock," Rose said, walking around him with a wave.

Sherlock turned around to watch her leave, waiting to head home until he saw her turn around and smile at him over her shoulder.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I'm sorry, Director Tyler, Mr. Holmes instructed me to turn everyone away today," Emma, Mycroft's secretary, informed Rose.

Rose had walked straight to Mycroft's office after running into Sherlock, needing to discuss sending the already formed Adipose babies home while contacting the Adipose Family about consequences of seeding on a Level Five planet. She hoped to avoid the mayhem the Doctor had caused in the Original Universe by not alerting Matron Cofeli of any trouble and going around the nanny to contact the Shadow Proclamation and the Host Family. All of the procedures of doing this were already underway, she simply needed to inform Mycroft since he had been worried about this case due to it effecting him personally. Luckily, if any emergency procedures were enacted, Rose had instructed Mycroft to stop taking the pills a few days before and he would be safe from harm.

"I'm not everyone, and I certainly am not asking permission to get into that room, now please step aside Emma, before I fire you," Rose ordered, walking past the brunette and into the office.

Mycroft had many offices, mainly to intimidate people by meeting in so many different places, however his main office was a tall, government building that took up half the floor, with Rose's office on the other side of the floor. She had a hard time locating him most of the time, which was why they were always calling each other, however after he saw an adipose baby develop from his own body, Mycroft had been in his office catching up on and filing paper work to avoid people. Rose hoped that now that she had a solution he would venture out, and perhaps start working out instead of relying on dietary supplements.

"Good evening, Ms. Tyler, I hope your investigation went well?" Mycroft asked as Rose walked in, not bothering to look up from his desk. Rose noted he was skinner than when she had left for Dartmoor, but pale from his scare. His dislike of leg work had much more to do with his temperament than his physical ability.

"Quite well, actually, I have my people making arrangements to have the proper aliens detained and the babies to be sent to their parents." Rose set the papers on his desk and sat down, noting Mycroft's color going a bit green at the mention of the baby Adipose.

"They were babies?" Mycroft asked, looking up in disgust to meet Rose's unamused stare, before beginning to go over the paperwork.

"The pill attracts all fat cells to a localized part of the host body, and then galvanizes it into a body. The process is used on many planets because it is an effective method of loosing weight so long as you're asleep when the Adipose forms, however the Seeding Process has to be approved by several world leaders and has to be planted on Leven Seven Planets and above," Rose explained in the simplest terms.

"So you have contacted the Shadow Proclamation to inform them?" Mycroft ensured, moving the papers to the side and leaning back in his chair to observe Rose, taking note of the differences since he had last seen her as she had seen his brother do a hour before.

"Not yet, I will once I return to UNIT, however the Adipose Family has been contacted to pick up the children at Loch Monar lake, they're required to bring their own levitation devices as we've been courteous enough not to ask for the Judoon to handle the situation."

As Director of UNIT, as well as the person that brought the Shadow Proclamation to Earth's attention, Rose was the sole Ambassador for Earth and the only person with the clearance to contact the Shadow Proclamation. With the help of several Shadow Architects, Rose created a contact system that allowed Earth to send short, cryptic messages when positive a decree was being broken or ignored.

Upon first contact with the Shadow Proclamation, Rose was asked if Earth was prepared to move to Level Six status, to which she gave a decisive no considering less then 1% of the Earth's population was aware of alien existence and there was a large section of the population that believed Earth was the only developed planet in the universe.

"So the pills will stop being disrupted and activated by the end of the day?" Mycroft clarified, sounding far too relieved for his regular self, so Rose took pity on him and decided against teasing him.

"Yes, all that needs to be done now is for you to create a cover story as to why Adipose Industry is being shut down."

"I'll get right on that, thank you, Ms. Tyler." Mycroft nodded to her, pulling out pen and paper to start drafting an explanation. Rose stood from the chair and nodded back.

"Of course, I headed back to York at the end of the week so I'll stop in for a meal before then, but you're paying, yeah?" Rose called over her shoulder, walking back to the doors, but Mycroft called her back.

"Ms. Tyler, I believe it is time you return to London. As Director of UNIT it is unseemly for you to travel around the United Kingdom answering every distress call. As Brigadier there is no problem with you continuing to be a part of UNIT First-Class, however the top team is not suppose to go on every mission, only the important and dangerous ones," Mycroft droned, glancing up just once to insure Rose was listening.

"You don't have the authority to order me around, Mycroft," Rose grit out, reminding another Sherlock brother she was powerful despite her age and despite her gender.

Mycroft looked up and gave Rose and unimpressed expression, folding his hands in front of him and sighing. "I'm aware of that, Ms. Tyler, and I'm doing no such thing, I'm simply advising. UNIT's headquarters are in London, it needs it's Director to be in London as well." Mycroft continued to stare Rose down, until she huffed an agreement and stormed across the hall to her office, planning to hide away in there finishing paper work since she couldn't escape London.


	13. Rose Enigma

"Sherlock!" John yelled, pulling Sherlock's focus away from the computer screen.

"John, there is no need to shout when I'm right here," Sherlock scolded, standing up from the desk chair and slumping into his chair, only slightly defeated.

"I've been calling your attention for five minutes!" John snapped, sitting down in the opposite chair. "What were you doing using my computer again?"

"I had to hack into London's security camera system," Sherlock explained, expecting another lecture about using John's laptop without permission, however John bypassed it.

"Did you find a case?" John asked, sitting forward.

"What?" Sherlock scrunched his face up. "No, I was researching someone."

"No," John dragged out. "That's stalking, researching would be looking at school records or college graduation pictures."

"Obviously," Sherlock nearly snarled, grabbing his own laptop to show the evidence. Except there was none. "Brigadier Rose Tyler didn't exist five years ago. All there is, is paperwork, her brith-certificate, her A Level scores, and graduation certificate, but no school pictures, no baby pictures!"

"Woah woah woah!" John stood up, his hands raised and anger written on his face. "You're stalking Rose? Sherlock, how could you? I get that she interested you, and proved you wrong, but Rose is my friend and I'm not going to let you stalk the poor woman!"

"Oh, shut up, John," Sherlock complained, waving his hand. "I'm not going to harm Ms. Tyler, and if you would just listen you would be interested as well." Sherlock set his laptop down and reached over to pick up John's from the desk. "Ms. Tyler was not caught on a security camera until five years ago, no where in London, or anywhere else in the UK, despite her brith certificate claiming she was born in Whipps Cross University Hospital."

John paused before thinking over what Sherlock was telling him, "So she is in a witness protection program?"

"No," Sherlock rejected the idea, though being privately proud of his friend for coming up with a reasonable explanation. "There is no facial recognition of her before five years ago. I hacked into the witness protection program first and they have no files with Rose Tyler as an alias name. Even if they did, she couldn't have been promoted to Brigadier, it would bring too much attention to her if she were in danger." Sherlock shut both laptops and began pacing the room, John, opening his laptop back up, observed Sherlock's findings, looking first at the last video Sherlock had been watching.

"That's Mycroft's building she is walking out of," John mused aloud. "I wonder if UNIT does business with him."

Sherlock stopped his pacing and looked back at the video, he had been observing her, not her surroundings, he had noted it was the same appearance she'd worn when bumping into him. He noted the absence of paper work, indicating UNIT had to be stationed in the same building as Mycroft, which meant Mycroft had to have knowledge about her.

Just as Sherlock was about to say so to John, the video went black and John lost the internet connection. "Damnit, not again!" John complained, typing away at the computer as though he could stop a government made virus, but it only made it fasten it's pace. All tabs were shut down, and the screen was static for a moment until the whole laptop went black with white bold words that said: **BAD WOLF VIRUS**.

"God, Sherlock!" John threw the laptop at Sherlock who was still staring at the word 'wolf' while John went on a tangent about privacy and hacking with Sherlock's own laptop.

"Bad Wolf..." Sherlock whispered. It had to be connected.

Sherlock took out his laptop and started looking up results for Bad Wolf, for UNIT, for anything connected to Rose Tyler. There were so many mysteries around Rose Tyler, and each time he went searching for an answer, he came up with more questions. There was a missing piece, possibly several missing pieces, that he couldn't see that were obscuring the full picture, once he had those, he had her.

John finally stopped ranting and went to Sherlock's side to look as well, offering suggestions for what to look up. After several minutes of failed attempts, Sherlock shoved the laptop in John's lap and started pacing the room. It wasn't long before John grew tired of Sherlock's antics and left to find lunch. Two minutes after John left, Sherlock heard the door open and assumed it was John, however the weight on the stairs was off, so he turned to the door to greet his brother. He'd been considering going to see Mycroft to ask his questions, but was glad he didn't have to now.

Sherlock sat down in his chair and placed the two laptops out of immediate sight, appearing completely at ease by the time Mycroft entered. Sherlock waited for Mycroft to sit in John's chair and begin his complaints or his pitch for a new case, however after a minute, he was forced to look over at his brother standing in the doorway.

Sherlock knew his brother, mainly because it was easy to understand Mycroft Holmes as he had no feelings and cared for three things: Family, King and Country. When Mycroft arrived at 221B Baker St, the only two possible reasons was to scold Sherlock for hacking into government facilities or to ask help for a case, which meant there was no reason for Mycroft to be looking at Sherlock with such anger.

"What?" Sherlock asked indignantly, leaning forward.

"Leave her alone, Sherlock, she is not one of your cases." Mycroft said his words clearly, with an undertone of defense, yet Sherlock didn't understand.

"I've done nothing wrong!" Sherlock complained, standing up.

"Sherlock, I will say this once and you will listen," Mycroft ordered, still standing straight in the doorway, ignoring Sherlock stomping towards him. "Brigadier Tyler is under my protection, and my protection is unbounded. If I find you have been looking into her past again, I will arrest you and charge you with everything I can."

"You're threatening me? Over a woman?!" Sherlock wanted to claim familial relation in defense because he was upset his brother would threaten to arrest him -and be serious about it- but he wasn't that much of a child.

"Brigadier Tyler is not any woman, Sherlock, she is the British Government's, maybe the world's, biggest asset. However, her ability to help us relies on civilians such as yourself not knowing about her. Leave her alone, Sherlock." Mycroft turned and moved to walk out, but Sherlock grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"Who is she?" Sherlock growled into Mycroft's face. Mycroft watched Sherlock, taking in Sherlock's much more pronounced anger. Mycroft's own anger changed, it was still there, but Sherlock detected both pity and possessiveness lingering in his eyes now.

"None of your concern. Ms. Tyler is not another Irene Adler, Sherlock, she is not to be obsessed over."

"I was _not_ obsessed with Ms. Adler," Sherlock defended, leaning away from his brother in disgust.

Mycroft rolled his eyes and turned away once again. "Forget Rose Tyler exists, brother, it is in your best interest."

Sherlock waited for the door to close, then went to the window to watch Mycroft walk away, and then he took the gun and shot the wall twice- three times. Sherlock turned away and ran his free hand through his hair, then caught sight of John's broken laptop and shot the wall two more times.

o0o0o0o0o0o

John slammed his front door behind him, only feeling slightly guilty when he heard Mrs. Hudson's small shriek of surprise. He simply couldn't take Sherlock's mood any longer and needed to get out of the apartment. Ever since they'd drawn a blank on Rose's past, Sherlock had been more eccentric, more rambunctious, and more tenacious, and it was wearing on John's nerves. Finally, after Sherlock had shot the wall, yelled at a woman with the first case brought to him in a week, and then yelled at John and Mrs. Hudson, John felt fresh air, chips, and many, many drinks, were in order.

After walking a couple blocks briskly, and looking around to find all unfamiliar shops, John decided he didn't want to drink alone, and pulled out his phone. In the past two weeks since Sherlock had begun researching Rose Tyler's past, he'd asked John on several occasions to call said woman to set up a meeting, but John refused, knowing it would turn into an interrogation, which Rose didn't deserve. Whatever her past was, whatever reason it was hidden so well didn't matter to John, and he didn't think it matter much to Sherlock except for solving the Rose Enigma.

He only had to wait through two dial tones, before Rose picked up. "Brigadier Tyler."

John chuckled at her professional tone, "Rose, it's John, are you up for dinner with lots of drinks?"

Over the line, Rose laughed and John could hear shuffling over the phone as she finished whatever she was working on. "Well, I suppose a night off is in order!" John laughed and looked around where he was, not spotting anything good.

"Know of anywhere good?"

Rose laughed once again, while John moved towards a bench. "I hope you're paying."

"That's what Knights do isn't it?" John asked, earning another chorus of laughter. The two talked on the phone a few more minutes discussing where and when to meet, before ending it as John hailed a taxi.

After a short taxi ride, and then a few minutes waiting, John watched Rose enter the bar, scan the room, and make her way towards him. John knew she wouldn't be pleased having her back to the room, however expected she would concede to sitting across from him in the booth as he had done in Dartmoor. Of course, Rose surprised him and ignored the booth seat in front of John and chose to sit right next to him so she could see the room as well. John couldn't help but laugh as she sat down.

"Hullo, John!" Rose exclaimed, reaching over to embrace him. When they released each other, they leaned back and John observed her. He didn't look for what Sherlock would, like clues of where she had been the past two months or what the ring on her middle finger meant, John simply made sure she was healthy and happy. She didn't look either of them.

"What happened?" John asked, pushing the basket of chips and brew her way.

"What'd you mean?" Rose asked, furrowing her eyebrows while reaching for the chips.

"Rose, you look awful," He exclaimed, though it wasn't true at all of course. Rose was taken aback so John hurried to explain. "Not like that, Rose, you look quite pretty as usual."

Rose grinned and playfully swished her pulled up hair from one shoulder to the other. John smiled a bit, but was still focused on the lingering bags under her eyes and the obvious weight she had lost. John acknowledged Rose was a beautiful woman despite having no romantic feelings toward her, he'd watched many heads follow her as she entered the bar minutes before, but she wasn't happy or healthy and he was worried.

"You haven't been sleeping or eating properly," He accused, calling for a waiter to bring two menus and another round of drinks.

"John, you worry too much," Rose brushed it off, glancing over the menu. "I've just been too busy at work to get many proper nights of sleep or meals." Rose looked up to offer John her stunning smile to smooth the lie over, but John didn't believe her one bit. However, as a soldier who had dealt with lack of appetite and sleep due to PTSD, he decided not to push and simply call for dinner dates more often.

They ordered their dinner, sipped their drinks, and discussed the past two months as much as Rose was allowed to. Mainly, John talked about the recent cases he hadn't had a chance to post to his blog and Rose asked questions about the ones he had.

"I really needed this night away from Sherlock," John complained as their meal was coming to an end, speaking the truth however also saying it to watch Rose's reaction. She didn't disappoint either, immediately upon hearing the detectives name brought up, she looked up from her food quickly, however she recovered quickly and laughed.

"I figured you called to get away from him," Rose accused with a fond smile. She pushed her empty plate away and leaned back against the booth seat, angling her body to talk with John easier. "What'd he do this time?"

"The whole apartment has been taken over by his experiments with various body parts, and him shooting the wall has become a weekly occurrence!" John exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and for a moment being as animated in his speech as Sherlock. "And throughout all of that he is constantly yelling at someone for no reason."

"Why?" Rose asked, looking amused and curious.

"That's just what Sherlock does, when he is bored, he gets moody."

Rose laughed and raised her hand seemingly without thinking about it to play with the key at the end of her necklace. "Yeah, I knew someone just like that."

John nodded, his eyes lingering on the key, thinking back to Sherlock's first meeting with Rose. He'd known then that there was more to the story than Rose let on, there was always more because Rose didn't share any information about herself, but after Sherlock's discovery that her past really didn't exist, he was far more curious.

"So what about you, Rose? Who were you before you were the big scary Brigadier Tyler, Director of a secret organization called UNIT?" John said, only half joking though Rose laughed.

"I was just a shop girl, believe it or not." Rose shrugged with a chuckle. "Completely ordinary." She appeared lost in a memory, a happy one John didn't want to break but she was leaving so much left unsaid again.

"Then what happened?" John pushed. Rose focused her eyes on him and titled her head to one side and then the other, considering the events and her next words. To John's greatest surprise, she pulled at her necklace until it came off completely, then held up the key for John to see.

"When I first met Sherlock, do you remember the things he said about me?"

"Yeah," John nodded. "You grew up in the estates, you've come in and out of money, you work for the government but don't hold a position of power - which of course he was wrong about, thank you very much for that - and you use to be in a serious relationship that ended badly. The last one you also said was wrong, causing Sherlock to grow a slightly unhealthy obsession of you."

Rose chuckled and nodded, still staring fondly at the key, occasionally glancing up to meet John's inquisitive gaze. "Yeah, I noticed he doesn't like being proved wrong so often, however I'm finding I quite like doing it." John laughed. "Anyways, when I proved him wrong about being engaged to-" Rose paused, looked away from the key in shock while staring at John until a second later she burst out laughing.

"What?" John exclaimed, chuckling along with the infectious laughter but not knowing the origin.

"Doctor John Watson, I swear I didn't make this connection until just now, but the man I'm talking about, his name was John, and the man I loved before John Noble was the Doctor." As Rose finished her sentence, she fell into another fit of laughter that took a bit longer to calm down. John chuckled along with her, acknowledging the humor and irony in the situation. He also took notice of her clutching the key to her heart and that when she calmed down, her eyes didn't shine with laughter in the least. "So I wasn't engaged to my Doctor, but I loved him a lot and knew he loved me. It was complicated and doesn't really matter," here Rose brushed her feelings off by placing the key chain back over her neck like she was storing it far away again.

"So, I met the Doctor when I was working at the store and we just hit it off right away. Well, I say hit it off, I mean we felt completely comfortable yelling at each other at any given moment and he felt the need to prove his intelligence and I could prove him wrong or find something he couldn't see." John nodded in complete understanding and the two grinned at each other. "Anyways, he asked me to travel with him, he sort of- well he..." Rose bit her lip and and looked around the bar, trying to explain something to John that she seemed to have no words for or simply couldn't talk about it.

"I'm guessing he introduced you to whatever makes UNIT a secret?" John supplied and Rose whipped her head towards him and gave him a huge grin.

"Exactly! It was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up and it-" Rose grabbed John's arm, he felt her imploring him to understand. "When you met Sherlock, the world changed, yeah? Earth still spun and all, but suddenly you'd met this man who saw everything differently and could do seemingly impossible things."

"It's undefinable."

"Yes," Rose whispered, releasing his arm and leaning away, once again grinning at John. He understood now why he had felt the need to approach her at the gas station, why he had been perfectly comfortable with her joining the investigation without knowing anything about her. Rose Tyler was John Watson's kindred soul, they understood one another.

"So you traveled together?" John asked after a moment of companionable silence.

"Yeah, and our fighting sorta turned to bickering, then to teasing, and then suddenly I found I was flirting with the Doctor and he was flirting back!" Rose shook her head like she still couldn't believe a man like this doctor could have feelings for her which only had John smiling at her fondly. "But, that's not what made me Brigadier Tyler," Rose shook her head, trying to stay on track. John felt he finally found a topic to get Rose talking. "It was the skills he taught me, like, how I viewed the world _completely_ changed. I would have never stopped traveling with him, I promised him forever and I was going to find a way to give it to him."

She stopped talking and reached for the bag of chips that were now soggy but she didn't seem to notice. John let her use the distraction to gather her thoughts, knowing already this wasn't a story with a happy ending and preparing to be there for his new friend as she finally talked about it.

Rose took in a deep breath, turned to John, gave him the most fake smile he had ever seen anybody attempt, and said, "After a year or so, I got separated from him in a way that it was extremely hard for either of us to see each other. I thought that was it, I barely got a goodbye from the man I loved and I was never going to see him again. For about a month, I let myself think that way, then got my ass to work and figured out ways to get back to him. I think it was two years before I finally made it, and just in time too because he needed me to save his butt again." Rose smiled fondly here, but John's lips were tilting down further with each word.

"So you saved him and went traveling for a while again?" John concluded, but Rose shook her head.

"No, actually this was where I met John Noble," Rose explained hesitantly, pushing the chips around with a fork. "John had done something during the battle that the Doctor disapproved of, and he took the two of us back to the place I'd been separated from him and John and I fell in love, then John passed away a few years ago. And since then I've joined UNIT, risen in the ranks, and now I'm a very important person." At that, Rose smiled a bit brighter, but John had already braced one hand on the table and other on the booth to fully turn towards Rose and stare at her agape.

"He _left_ you?!" John yelled, ignoring the looks they received. "He traveled the world with you, changed you, had you fall in love with him, and then you get separated and he doesn't try to find you? Then when you find and save his ungrateful ass, this bloke leaves you with a man he disapproves of and doesn't trust? Who the hell does he think he is?" John breathed deeply, completely indignant for Rose, though she seemed confused for his anger, which only fueled his anger because she seemed to think this doctor's actions were completely justified.

"John, there is so much more to the story I'm just not allowed to tell you, these are just the basics. The Doctor is a good man, he-"

"No," John interrupted, holding up the hand that had been gripping the booth. "I'm sorry, but I know good men, and that is not how a gentleman treats a lady. He knew how you felt didn't he?"

"Well, yes but-"

John slammed his hands on the table and looked to the roof, begging for patience in this moment where anger was filling his mind. "Rose, if I ever meet this doctor, I'm punching the daylights out of him, I swear it on Sherlock's life." Rose sighed, chuckled, shook her head, then took a swig of her drink.


	14. Goddess All Others Fear

It took three weeks after getting into the fight with Mycroft for Sherlock to put aside his resentment in favor of finding more information on Rose Tyler. He knew that going to Mycroft's office with the purpose of asking for information and help would be letting Mycroft earn a point in their petty game, but there was no other option. The Bad Wolf Virus had held John's laptop captive for six days before Mycroft finally relinquished control, however when Sherlock had continued his research, avoiding government based websites, the virus came back for another six days. Sherlock spent the next week trying to distract himself from thoughts of the blonde and her past to no avail, John claimed he was obsessed but Sherlock had felt obsession before, been addicted many times and he knew he wasn't now. It was just like any other case, he'd find what he was looking for and be done with it.

Sherlock wasn't sure where he could find his brother, there were so many Mycroft Holmes offices across London it was impossible to locate him without calling ahead or being called upon. Typically, Sherlock would use his homeless network to locate him as they were always keeping tabs on the eldest Holmes brother for the youngest, but on that day Sherlock went to his brother's largest office with the hope that Mycroft was out but Director Tyler was in.

He had varying feelings about Rose working closely with Mycroft. On one hand, Rose claimed she had no one to report to, meaning she had equal power to Mycroft who was the British Government and the idea that Mycroft had to share power with Rose was very amusing. Yet on the other, Sherlock knew Rose had been asked to go to Dartmoor but didn't know who asked and why. While she had ended up having a lot of work to do with Baskerville, none of it had been expected, which meant her original purpose there had to have been Mycroft wanting her to watch over him. This was where Sherlock grew equally angry and confused.

The thought the Rose had only paid attention to him because she was ordered to was one Sherlock didn't entertain for more than a moment, however being deceived by another woman was unsettling. However, Brigadier Tyler wouldn't agree to babysit her co-workers little brother, Sherlock wholly believed Rose took her work very seriously and knew she had earned her title. There was more to the story than Rose being Mycroft's pawn, and that confused Sherlock, however she had been there to do something surrounding Sherlock and that angered him. Once again, Rose Tyler found a way to infuriate Sherlock due to the mysteries surrounding her without actually doing anything to him.

Sherlock shook his head to clear his thoughts as he walked into the tall office building, glancing around the lobby he saw numerous heads turn and recognize him instantaneously as he did them. He noted smugly that Mycroft's system of observing his brother's outing was not nearly as inconspicuous as Sherlock's.

"Is Mycroft Holmes in?" Sherlock asked the front desk lady, offering a stunning, innocent grin to hopefully bypass any necessities.

"Who is asking?" She replied, nonplussed.

"His brother." The woman bobbed her head and pressed a speed-dial number on her personal phone.

"Sherlock Holmes to see Mycroft Holmes." She informed whoever was on the other line, then hung up. "Someone will be with you shortly to escort you up."

"I know where I'm going," Sherlock dismissed, walking towards the elevator.

Two guards slapped their hands on Sherlock's shoulders and looked down at him with deep frowns. Though he was seeing several ways to be released from their grips, Sherlock refrained and gave them each a disgusted look.

"Someone will be with you shortly to escort you up," the left security guard grunted, pushing Sherlock to a row of chairs.

Before they reached them, Sherlock saw Mycroft's assistant that didn't look up from her phone arrive on the elevator. While still not looking up or stopping from texting, the woman called Sherlock's name. Without waiting for Sherlock to reply, she reached over and press the button Mycroft's office was on.

Sherlock shrugged off the guards meaty hands, straightened up his collar, and entered the elevator as it was shutting.

"Afternoon, Mr. Holmes." The secretary greeted, with a slight nod to the youngest brother.

"Afternoon."

Mycroft wasn't on the top floor of the building but he was near it, when the elevator door finally opened, Sherlock stepped off and made his way down the hall towards his brother's office. The secretary stayed in step with him but didn't attempt to sway him from barging into the meeting, having dealt with the Holmes brothers far longer than most people. Sherlock could hear his brother in a heated debate with a colleague on the other side of the door, but he had no qualms interrupting them.

"I do not understand why we are having this conversation, it is pointless. We have a system in place to handle this, a system you created I might add, if you start making exceptions it will never end." Mycroft spoke sternly on the other side of the door. Sherlock raised his hand to push it open, but stopped when he heard her voice.

"Does it look like I care?" Rose all but yelled. "Hybrid or not, they are killers and they don't change. My order is for it to be exterminated before it does the exact same things to us!"

"Ms. Tyler, considering your history in UNIT, you leaning towards violence in this situation points to the fact you are too close to this case and need to be removed." Mycroft chastised Rose.

Sherlock heard the bang of Rose's hands as she must have slammed them on Mycroft's desk. Her response was whispered and Sherlock had to move closer to the door to hear the end of it.

"- all others fear, and I am the only one on Earth that has any knowledge of them. Do you really think you can stop me?"

"Ms. Tyler, I believe this conversation is over." Sherlock heard his brother stand up from his chair.

"They couldn't have heard anything of importance, just talk with whoever it is and we'll continue this later."

Hearing their words, and Mycroft's approaching footsteps, Sherlock assumed they didn't expect it to be him, so he finally pushed the door in and greeted the two people he had been looking for. As the door closed behind him, the three of them observed each other quietly for a moment. Sherlock noticed his brother had gained back the weight he'd noticed was gone in their last meeting and that Mycroft wasn't surprised that Sherlock had been the eavesdropper.

Sherlock saw Rose's eyes widened when he walked in. Unlike his brother who was dressed in typical office attire, Rose was wearing combat boots, dark pants and a leather jacket with white tank top under it -she'd been in the field today, possibly headed back out. Sherlock wanted to observe the pieces of the attire, to locate where the collection of dust on her shoulder originated from, but all he saw was the makeup covering the sleeping bags and the weight loss.

"Sherlock Holmes, didn't your mother teach you not to eavesdrop?" Rose inquired, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head with a small smile. Sherlock couldn't help but smile back at her, but her smile didn't go anywhere near her eyes. Sherlock realized he could read her, he didn't know anything about her, but he could read her.

"She did, but Sherlock never listened to Mother," Mycroft sneered, turning his back on the two and sitting back behind his desk.

Sherlock glared at his brother and opened his mouth to retort, but felt Rose place a hand on his arm, he looked down and saw her shake her head. "Don't mind Mycroft, he's mad at me not you."

"Why?" Sherlock asked.

Rose shook her head but laughed, "I'll leave you two to it, then, I've got a mission that needs planning." Sherlock watched her throw a dark look at Mycroft, before smiling at Sherlock and walking out the door.

"Why are you here, Sherlock?" Mycroft asked, annoyance clear in his tone and Sherlock could picture him rubbing his face, however Sherlock was watching Rose walk out of the office and speak with Mycroft's assistant a moment. To his surprise, she continued walking till she reached the door to the office opposite Mycroft's which Sherlock had always assumed Mycroft owned as well. Before she closed the door behind her, she looked back at Sherlock and grinned conspiratorially.

Sherlock turned back to his brother. "Hybrid of what?" Sherlock asked, and Mycroft rolled his eyes and exhaled. "Experiments at other bases than just Baskerville?"

"Sherlock."

"What did she mean only one on Earth, odd phrasing don't you think? Bit presumptuous too," Sherlock mused, moving around Mycroft's office and picking up all the knickknacks.

"Do I need to issue a warrant for your arrest, Sherlock? Because I believe I told you to leave her alone."

"Please do, I haven't seen Lestrade in a while, maybe he has a case for me," Sherlock snarked, turning back to Mycroft and plopping down in the chair across from him.

"Are you asking me to provide you with a case?" Mycroft asked, not bothering to hide his surprise and doubt.

"No," Sherlock scoffed, making a face.

"Why are you here, Sherlock?" Mycroft repeated.

"Just wanted to chat with my bro," Sherlock quipped, grinning at Mycroft when he made a face as well.

"Anything you want to know about her is classified, even if I wanted to tell you, you don't have the clearance to know more than her name."

"Which is Rose Tyler?"

"Yes, of course her name is Rose Tyler." Mycroft looked ready to throw Sherlock out of the building while Sherlock was having more and more fun as the minutes passed.

"And yet Rose Tyler didn't exist five years ago so the name is a pseudonym," Sherlock said his words as though they were facts, even though he was fully aware they were not.

"No, Sherlock," Mycroft said, not able to help himself from pointing out when his brother is wrong. "Rose Tyler is who she says she is, she is not in a witness protection program or anything of the sort."

"And yet she has your unbounded protection," Sherlock sneered. Mycroft lifted his folded hands up and leaned his head on them, not replying to Sherlock's comment. "What does she do for the government? Rose says she is just as powerful as you are."

Mycroft rolled his eyes and sighed, standing up from the desk and going towards his office door. "I'm aware you refer to me as the British Government, I wouldn't want to sway you from that image so think or Ms. Tyler as the British Diplomacy or perhaps the United Nations."

"Surely, she can't have that much power," Sherlock scoffed. Mycroft once again looked eager to correct Sherlock on an issue he already understood, because yes, Rose Tyler could be that powerful.

"Let's not forget the last woman you underestimated, Sherlock," Mycroft jabbed at him, opening the office door and calling for his secretary. "Emma, please escort Sherlock back to 221B Baker St."

"Am I being kicked out?" Sherlock stood up and kept the smirk from turning into a smile as he saw Rose walk out of her office from behind Mycroft and join Emma in the hall.

"Yes, would you like security to join you or is Emma sufficient?"

"Oh, finished already?" Rose asked, grinning as Mycroft turned around with a frown. "That was quick, but then when you live so close to your brother I guess catching up doesn't take too long, yeah?"

"Do you have a brother as well, Ms Tyler?" Sherlock asked, sensing a tone of fondness in her sentence. He expected her to brighten at the mention of a sibling as he saw most due, however she deflated a minuscule amount and her smile dropped a moment. Mycroft turned his back to Rose and focused Sherlock with a deep glare.

"I did," Rose replied, swallowing a bit. "His name was Tony."  
"I'm sorry for your loss," Sherlock replied, feeling his words fell short in comforting her and that he needed to do more to return the smile to her lips.

"Thank you," Rose croaked, then cleared her throat and gave real effort to bring her good mood back. "Anyways, I'm headed out if you'd like me to escort you, Sherlock? So long as you don't mind a stop on the way down."

Sherlock smiled at the blonde and moved past his brother before Mycroft could think of an excuse. Offering his arm to her, Sherlock said, "That would be wonderful, lead the way, Ms. Tyler."

Rose laughed and squeezed his arm, waving over her shoulder at Mycroft and Emma. They stepped into the elevator when the doors opened and Sherlock turned around in time to spot Mycroft still glaring at him, so he smiled and waved with Rose.

"You two have an odd relationship, yeah?" Rose pointed out when the doors shut, hitting the button for a floor five levels down.

"He tells people he is my arch-nemesis."

"He's never told me that."

"The second time I met John, he'd already been approached by Mycroft and John was convinced he'd stumbled into strange gang activity," Sherlock explained, his lips lifting as Rose's laughter filled the air.

"He's quite a drama queen." Sherlock nodded, but the door had opened and he was too busy taking in as much information of where Rose worked to form a reply.

"Welcome to UNIT," Rose introduced, stepping out of the elevator and looking around also. "Well, the offices for UNIT, the fun stuff is located somewhere else." Rose explained, turning away from the rows of cubicles to grin at the disappointed detective.

"Will we be going there today?" Rose laughed and pulled on his arm.

"This will only take a minute, I've only got to talk with Jake a mo." Rose walked around the cubicles, occasionally nodding to someone who greeted her, but for the most part not looking over her employees and instead watching Sherlock observe her work space.

Sherlock could tell this office space was the front for UNIT, where people like himself, that knew of its existence but not of its activities could be brought to without giving any real information away. Had he been given time to look at any paperwork, Sherlock was sure that there was very few secrets being filed away, only accounting and perhaps licenses being registered. All of the workers seemed accustomed to Rose bringing strangers around so they didn't watch him closely, however almost all of them watched her. Sherlock noticed that as she approached, they would all be working diligently, but when he looked back after passing, they watched Rose pass in a sense of reverence. She'd gained all of their respect despite being younger than some of them, and Sherlock once again wondered what her skill set was that made her the most qualified for this secret organization.

"Do you mind waiting out here, Sherlock?" Rose asked, bringing his attention back to her. She was still leaning on his arm, looking at him like she hoped he was finding the information he was looking for.

"Of course." Sherlock nodded. She grinned and stepped into the glass office they had arrived at. She closed the door behind her, winking at Sherlock as she did so which brought a smile to his face, which promptly dropped when he saw the boy she turned towards.

Instead of approaching a cubicle and stealing papers as he had planned to do, Sherlock stared at this Jake who was staring at Rose with dopey eyes. He was thirty-five and recently single. The length of hair on his pants showed he had a large dog, and Sherlock assumed from the military cut it was a trained dog. Despite keeping his hair cut clean and facial hair to a minimum, Jake was not still working in the field as was easily discernible by his office which was highly personalized, but the many pictures of fellow field agents and all of his metals on display meant he didn't want to be in a desk job. There was no sign of injury in his stance as he greeted Rose so there had to have been an accident or event that had Rose relocating him, but Jake felt no resentment towards Rose so he'd either accepted his mistake or didn't know she had requested the change.

Rose and Jake talked a moment, Rose walking around the office with animated gestures as she explained something but Sherlock wasn't sure Jake was getting all of the information as every time Rose turned her back his eyes dropped low. Rose appeared oblivious to the attraction the man felt towards her, and continued her explanation or rant until they nodded to one another and shook hands. As she turned away from Jake, he watched her leave his office, taking notice of Sherlock waiting for her by the door. When Rose opened the door, Sherlock tore his eyes away from Jake and met her grin with his own, offering his arm to her which she readily skipped over to take. Before she could spin him around, Sherlock looked back to Jake and his smile grew smug when he met Jake's glare.

"Sorry for the wait," Rose said, leading them back to the elevator.

"Jake likes you," Sherlock pointed out.

"What?" Rose looked up at Sherlock and frowned, not having expected Sherlock to be quite so blunt.

"That man, he is attracted to you, would like to ask you out."

"You didn't even talk to him, Sherlock," Rose pointed out.

"I didn't have to," he reminded her, to which Rose nodded her head and chuckled.

"I'll prepare a good excuse if he decides to act on those feelings," Rose joked, stepping into the elevator and looking up at Sherlock after pressing the button for the lobby. "Thanks for the heads up." Sherlock didn't understand the smile she gave him so he tried to ignore it.

"You're not going to accept if he asks?"

Rose chuckled, "Not really interested in dating right now." The elevator door opened and Rose turned away from Sherlock's stare before he could say something he regretted. Instead he was given a minute to regain proper thought and ask questions for the sake of information.

"Why?"

Rose headed towards the door, smiling when she saw it was sunny out for once. "Well for one I probably need a place of my own before I could bring a boy over, y'know?" Rose shook her head at herself and dropped Sherlock's arm to push the front door open, stopping just outside.

"You live with your parents?" Sherlock asked, having never picked out any information to indicate such a thing.

With her head tilted up towards the sun, Rose sighed and shook her head. "No, my parents passed away seven years ago, maybe eight now but I think seven." Rose took in another deep breath and kept her face turned up to the sun, around them people passed by and didn't give her a second glance so Sherlock assumed she did this on every clear day. But while people didn't stare at the odd woman, Sherlock did.

He called her the blonde a lot in his mind, it was a trait that stood out because she wasn't a natural blonde but it still fit her as though she was meant to be that way. In that moment, with the sun shinning in London for the first time all week, her blonde hair created a halo around her face. She was akin to a Goddess in Sherlock's mind as she took in the few rays of sun, breathing deeply as though she was taking in the smell of salt water or country roads instead of London smog. He watched her, not observed her, and he took her hand when he saw the sun reflect off a lone tear that escaped.

She squeezed his hand and took one last deep breath before coming back to Earth and walking hand in hand with Sherlock down the building's front steps. She didn't bother to wipe the tear away, just let it fall further down her face and let it's track dry.

"After mum and dad died, and then after some other stuff, I was homeless for a little more than a week till I met your brother. Now, I live in government housing aimed towards military personnel."

Sherlock stayed quiet as Rose kept walking and holding his hand. She'd said she was alone, back in Dartmoor, but he'd thought she meant alone in the world like he had felt before he met her, instead she meant what she said. She was alone and relying on Mycroft Holmes for a job and a living. Sherlock squeezed her hand to get her attention and she turned to him in question, the tear now dried and smile back in place.

"Are you looking for somewhere else to live?" Sherlock asked, watching Rose frown and shake her head.

"No, I travel a lot for work so what Mycroft found for me works just fine."

"You said you need a place of your own to start a relationship," Sherlock pointed out, shocked when Rose whipped her head up and looked at Sherlock in surprise, her eyes fully dilated and a gasp escaping her lips. Sherlock's eyes, of their own accord, dropped to stare at her lips. When her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips and an odd feeling filled Sherlock's stomach, he wrenched his eyes away and looked at Rose curiously.

"Um, yeah I'm not looking for a home just to have boys over," She chuckled nervously and bit her lip.

"But you'd like one?" Sherlock insisted.

"Sherlock, what are you asking?"

"221C Baker St is for rent. If you're worried about needing someone to watch the flat while you're traveling, Mrs. Hudson does it whether you're there or not."

Rose stopped walking and stared at Sherlock, her lips lifted up but her eyebrows furrowed, looking unsure if she should laugh or not. "Um, I'll think about it, yeah?" Sherlock nodded, content with that answer. Her phone started ringing, causing her to break eye contact with him.

"Brigadier Tyler." She answered, glancing back to Sherlock and then grinning when she got her reply. "Hullo, John!" Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you need a break from Sherlock because I know for a fact he can't be bothering you right now. ... Because he's standing next to me. ... Yes, I know. ... Dinner sounds great, should I get rid of him before or should we invite him? ... I agree. ... Sounds great, I'll see you later then, yeah? I may be late, I've got to go take care of some UNIT business but feel free to start without me. ... Okay, see you in a bit."

Rose hung up the phone and grinned up at Sherlock, before stepping closer to the road and flagging down a cab.

"What did John want?" Sherlock asked when it became clear Rose wasn't going to share the other half of the conversation, watching in annoyance as she looked over her shoulder at him and grinned teasingly.

"We're all three going out to get drinks tonight," she explained, stepping back as a cab pulled over and then asking the guy to wait a moment.

"That's alright, I'd rather stay home."

"Come on, Sherlock," Rose said, tugging on his arm playfully and grinning up at him. "You don't even have to drink, John said he's had a long day and needs to get drunk and I'm expecting I'll feel the same after this mission, but you can be our sober guardian."

"That does not sound appeasing." Sherlock tried to turn down the offer, but he knew it was fruitless with the way she was smiling at him.

"John won't get that drunk, you won't be babysitting or anything, just- please? I gotta run, I'm late now and I can't really be late for this mission, but I expect to see you tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah," Sherlock grumbled, allowing her to pull her hand free.

"Perfect, I'll see you later then," She went up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck, pecking him on the cheek and then jumping in the cab before he could react.


	15. Ba Da Da Dum

Rose sat against the alley wall and buried her head in her knees, breathing deeply and waiting for the nausea to pass. It was only one and had it not been experimenting with it's own biology it could have done a lot more damage. Sherlock's Universe was safer now that she had handled the situation. Still, Rose leaned to the side and threw up in the alley again.

Her whole team had been sent home after clean up was finished, her second in command on his way to inform Mycroft that he needs to come up with a cover story as to why the construction of the new bank building had resulted into multiple deaths and was now being canceled.

It was a Human-Dalek. Hybrid between both species with the Kaled mutant shaped head and four of the eight tentacles staying protruding from the head while the other four shifted into human arms and legs. Her team-mates had been focused on the human aspect of the hybrid, while Rose only saw a Dalek.

She'd been informed of the many deaths surrounding the building that morning and had made the decision to move in the moment she heard it was a Dalek. No plans had been uncovered as to why the Dalek had gone against its programming to mix it's own genes with a humans, but Rose knew a Dalek's first and final order was to exterminate any unworthy species and she wouldn't let that happen this time. The only reason the Human-Dalek had lived hours after she had discovered it, was because she had to wait for her team to prepare and assemble, she wasn't the Doctor and she probably wouldn't regenerate if shot down so she took the time to plan to ensure everyone survived the encounter with a Dalek for once. They did too.

Rose blocked out her thoughts, and stood up, dusting off and walking out of the alley. She was still in the clothes from earlier in the day and had managed not to get them too dirty, so she hailed a cab and gave it directions to the pub she was meeting John and Sherlock at. Rose didn't pay attention to the cab driver and missed the frightened look he gave her as she crawled into his back seat, she just focused on keeping her thoughts and memories at bay until she could take some shots.

When they pulled up to the pub and the driver told her it was on the house, she suspected there may be something wrong with her appearance, so she checked again but still saw nothing that would suggest she had just murdered -killed -put down a threat to the world. So, she turned towards the pub and took a deep breath.

John had picked the place this time, and Rose thought it looked perfect for such a nice night in London. It had several seats outside with garage doors as the front walls which had been lifted to let the warm breeze filter through. Rose attempted to smile at how quaint the bar looked, but failed and sighed instead.

She scanned the crowd and located John and a grumpy Sherlock sitting outside at a table furthest away from the bar where everyone was congregating. He must have felt her eyes on him, because Sherlock looked up as soon as she spotted them. Rose frowned deeply when Sherlock's eyes widened and told John to stay at the table as he jumped down from the bar stool and hurried towards her. She grew worried when she saw John catch sight of her and stumble against the table in shock.

"Sherlock?" Rose asked, clearly hearing the fear in her voice as he approached her. His eyes were wide and he grabbed her arms and spun her around so her back was now to the crowd and they could no longer see her. His eyes ran over her quickly, searching for injuries before he settled back on her face and stared at her in shock.

"What happened?" Sherlock demanded.

"I- Is there something on my face?" She asked, slowly reaching up a shaking hand to touch he cheek, when she did, she felt still damp blood coating it.

She'd seen an opportunity to kill the Human-Dalek and she had taken it. Her team had been listening to it's lies about what being a hybrid meant, how Dalek Wix was no longer void of emotion and felt sympathy, but Rose felt what Dalek Wix did. He didn't know what he was saying, the Dalek and Human parts were waring against one another and the Dalek was winning. She shot the Human-Dalek from behind machinery, she was a good shot and it died immediately when the bullet hit it's brain, after that Rose had blocked it out until she'd reached the alley. The blood, his blood, must have splattered over the machines.

Rose closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, forcing the memories into a dark corner to join the others. She'd known she would have a hard time killing the Dalek, but it was harder seeing the looks from her teammates. They didn't understand and they judged her anyways.

Sherlock led her further away from the bar, but Rose kept her eyes shut tightly, not wanting to see fear or judgement in his eyes as well. When he stopped, in what she assumed was another alley, Sherlock gently placed a hand under her chin and lifted it, observing the horror that was plastered on her face.

"You're not hurt?" Sherlock insured. Rose shook her head, closing her eyes tighter till she saw spots. Dalek Wix hadn't made a move to harm her, she hadn't killed in defense.

Sherlock hummed, then Rose felt something wet dab on her face. She jerked away in shock and opened her eyes. It was dark in the alley so she couldn't make out Sherlock's face right away, but she focused in on his feelings for the first time and felt only concern for her. As she adjusted to the dark, Rose saw Sherlock staring down at her, watching her take him in, and slowly, he raised the handkerchief back to her face and washed the blood away. Rose shut her eyes again and tried to relax, letting the silence ease her mind. When he was finished, Sherlock dropped the fabric and stood in front of her, not touching but she could still sense his presence and get comfort from it.

"Thank you," Rose whispered. "I'm sorry, I thought since my clothes were clean that I-" Rose choked on her words and opened her eyes to meet Sherlock's.

"You don't have to apologize," he assured her, lifting his hand a moment, as though to touch her, then dropping it back down. "Do you- Well, can you talk about it?"

"It's fine, I'm fine, I just need a couple drinks s'all," Rose flippantly said, sucking in a breath and forcing a smile.

"I don't think that's wise," Sherlock said, grabbing her arm when she tried to walk past him. "Drinking while emotional tends to only further ones problems."

Rose fixed the detective with an incredulous look, both amused and irritated to have Sherlock Holmes lecturing her about drinking. Instead of replying, she tugged her arm free and walked back towards the bar, easily spotting John's pale, worried face still at the table Sherlock left him.

"Hullo, John!" Rose greeted, bouncing over to him and wrapping him in a hug around the neck. She felt his arms wrap around her middle tightly for a second, then he pushed her away and settled his hands on her shoulders, looking over her now clear face. Before he could ask, Rose said, "It wasn't my blood and I'm okay, no need to worry."

John sighed and relief and looked over her shoulder as Sherlock joined them, "Well, long day for us both then. Shots?" John offered, slightly nervous as Sherlock was glaring at the two of them, mainly Rose though.

Rose didn't answer, just took the offered shot and downed it, then downed the second one on the table, then reached for the one Sherlock was never going to drink and downed that one. She slammed the last glass down and grinned with a smack of her lips.

"I think a cocktail is in order now, yeah?" Rose skipped away from the boys.

She didn't drink often anymore, before the Doctor, Mickey, Sharon, and Shareen took her clubbing often, but not after the Doctor. She'd drank to find a thrill, now she had a big fancy job for that. Still, Rose could find some solace at the bottom of a cup. In Pete's Universe she'd even gone out with John Noble for drinks once, in Sherlock's Universe she'd only drank to dull her mind when the memories wouldn't stay in their proper place. In the past year she hadn't had to as often, but a Dalek? She needed many drinks.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Sherlock, help me get her out of the cab," John ordered Sherlock, who had continued muttering about being correct the whole car ride. Had John been in the back with the two, he was sure he would have at least slapped Sherlock, however Rose didn't seem to mind his mutterings in her drunken state, she just leaned against his shoulder and hushed him by covering his lips with her hand every time he started to lecture. If John wasn't worried about alcohol poisoning he'd have thought it was hilarious.

John pulled on Rose's arms, as she was mostly deadweight at this point, while Sherlock got out of the cab on the other side and walked around to meet him. "For god sake, John, I thought you were a doctor, you'll pull her arms out of their sockets like that, she's still strapped in."

"Well, I didn't know you buckled her in," John defended himself, moving aside to let Sherlock take over. Instead of unbuckling Rose and pulling her out to have her lean against his arm like John had been planning, Sherlock freed Rose from the cab and picked her up, carrying her up the steps of 221B Baker St. "Get the door, John."

"Right." John snapped out of his surprised and hurried in front of the two. "Did she pass out?"

"'Course not," Rose slurred. She'd snuggled into Sherlock's chest and was tapping two fingers against it to his heart beat. "Y'know, if you had two hearts it'd sound like this?" She asked, then tapped ba da da dum, ba da da dum.

"Don't be absurd," Sherlock scoffed, moving sideways through the front door with only a glance down at Rose.

"It's true!" Rose insisted, lifting her head from the crook of Sherlock's elbow to point a finger in his face. "I know because-" Roses eyes widened and she started moving so fast that Sherlock looked to John and he moved forward to help ease her to her feet, the whole time she started rambling. "Hey! Do you have a locket, like a watch thingy? Oh what did he call it! Fob watch? Yeah! No, maybe. Do you have one?"

"No, Rose," Sherlock said, taking her hands and leading her up the stairs slowly. "I don't have a fob watch, who told you about those?"

John sent Sherlock a nasty look for trying to learn information from Rose while she wasn't in the right state of mind, but Sherlock didn't see it because Rose had pointed at him again and said, "no snooping." Sherlock and John grinned at that.

Slowly, and surprisingly pretty quietly, the three of them made it up the stairs into John and Sherlock's living room. The whole way Sherlock walked backwards and ensured Rose didn't trip down or up the stairs by holding her hands and supporting her. Once they reached the landing, Sherlock kept a hold of her hand and sat down on the couch with her.

"Rose, can you tell us where you live now?" John tried again, though expected to get the same reply.

"Can't, its classified, have ta kill ya," Rose sang, tilting her head back and forth till she grew tired and leaned against Sherlock's shoulder. "One heart sounds different," she whispered, closing her eyes and frowning.

John watched Sherlock stare at the woman next to him. When his friend had jumped from the bar table and rushed through the crowd after ordering John to stay, the last thing he expected was to see Sherlock rushing off to Rose Tyler and comforting her. He'd cleaned her up and managed to snap her out of the daze he'd seen her in when she arrived, but when the two of them returned, Rose refused to fully acknowledge Sherlock until she was well into the cups. On Sherlock's part, John didn't think he'd observed any of their surroundings until he had to call for a cab with the way he stared intently at her. John knew Rose felt Sherlock's stare, when she returned with her first cocktail, she'd immediately met his stare and lifted an artistic eyebrow at him. John witnessed several of these heated stares and couldn't make sense of them.

"Sherlock?" Rose murmured, her eyes drifting close.

"Yes?" Sherlock asked. John sat down in his chair and gawked at the two and at Sherlock being gentle. In a situation like this, John would assume Sherlock would be wholly annoyed by whoever was the drunk leaning against him. John understood Rose had a way with people, everyone gravitated towards her everywhere they went, but her influence over Sherlock seemed amplified.

"Will you tell me a story?" Rose asked, cracking her eyes and tilting her head to meet Sherlock's gaze briefly.

"What would you like to hear?"

"A happy story, where everybody lives," she answered. John leaned back, his own alcohol addled brain making him sleepy as well.

"Okay." Sherlock opened his mouth to comply, but Rose kept going with her instructions.

"Put Jack in it, yeah?" Sherlock nodded and John watched Rose continue to frown and her closed eyes to scrunch tighter. "But not Mickey, they'd only fight."

"Of course."

"No Cybermen," she declared, biting her lip. "No Daleks too, even if we fight them and win."

"Of course not."

"John?" Rose asked. John leaned forward, not expecting to be addressed. Sherlock looked away from the woman in his arms to meet Johns curious stare.

"Right here, Rose."

"No," she whispered. "You're not."

John nodded, understanding who Rose was calling out to in her delirious state of mind. When he saw a tear leak out, he stood from the chair and crossed the room to crouch in front of the broken hearted woman. He took her hand from a nearly frozen Sherlock and pulled her up in a proper sitting position.

"Rose, lets get you some tea, does that sound okay."

"The memories are leaking out, John, I need another drink," Rose opened her eyes and plead with John.

"No more drinking tonight, Rose," John declined and she closed her eyes tightly and shook her head.

"You don't understand." Rose lifted her hands to cover her face. John continued to stay in front of her, but Sherlock lifted up from the couch and moved to the kitchen to put a pot on. When he moved, Rose looked up and watched him leave, another tear escaping.

"Rose?" John spoke quietly, bringing her attention back to him.

"Where's the bathroom?" Rose whispered back, John gave a gentle smile and pointed down the hall. She nodded and walked past him on shaking legs.

John sighed and rubbed his face as well, wondering what he had gotten into by befriending another genius, especially a female one with a dark past. He didn't expect a night drinking with the bright Rose Tyler would end comforting her about a boyfriend, it was simply too normal for the woman so he believed it had to be more than just the John Noble. She'd said the memories were escaping, she hadn't struggled hard enough through telling John about it before that she would fear the memories like this.

John stood up and stretched his legs, wishing he hadn't tried to keep up with the determined woman for as long as he did. She needed a sober, compassionate mind and while Sherlock had put up a good act, the moment she started opening up he fled to the kitchen. The man had done better than John ever imagined but there was always a limit with him.

"Rose?" John turned and saw Sherlock standing in the kitchen doorway with a cup of tea in his hand, looking around for her. John opened his mouth to tell him she was in the bathroom, but Sherlock figured it out faster. His eyes widened as the cup dropped to the floor and Sherlock dashed down the hall and a second later John heard a string of curses. John hurried after his friend to see the bathroom empty and the window open. Sherlock was leaning out and from the speed of which he was whipping his head back and forth, John assumed Rose had disappeared.

Sherlock hit the window sill, then fled the bathroom and headed into the living room, grabbing the coat he had discarded. Before John could advise Sherlock not to go after Rose, mainly because he believed he wouldn't be able to track her, his phone rang. Sherlock grabbed it from the table and answered it, putting it on speaker phone.

"Where are you?" Sherlock demanded, Rose chuckled on the other end.

"Headed home," she replied.

"You're drunk," John argued.

"I'm Director of UNIT, do you boys really think I don't have a driver on hand like Mycroft?" John and Sherlock glanced at each other, noting the other hadn't thought she had either. "Now, don't you two worry about lil'o me, yeah? John, dinner next week? Sherlock, see you when you stalk me again, yeah? Don't make me send the Bad Wolf Virus after you again too soon, okay? G'night, boys!" Rose hung up and John and Sherlock stared at each other, until slowly, a smile grew till Sherlock was beaming at the phone in his hand.


	16. Stalker

Sherlock felt he was figuring Rose Tyler out, at least finding it easier to predict her actions, he still was at a lost what was lurking in her past. When she disappeared from their flat, Sherlock hadn't been overly surprised though her method of leaving had been unexpected. Afterwards, he'd sat on the couch instead of his chair and started the process of memorizing all the information she had let slip while John had taken the tea and made himself a cup to sober up. Eventually, John went to bed and Sherlock cleaned up the broken tea cup and went to bed as well. The next morning John had a text asking how his hangover felt, and that was all they heard from Rose for a week. Sherlock expected that as well.

What he hadn't expected was for Mycroft to take a week to visit after his top priority came in to work hungover the day after Sherlock had showed up, perhaps it had been a long week. He'd been playing violin when the car pulled up, and decided to switch the routine around and meet Mycroft at the door. Predictably, Mycroft opened the door without knocking, but stopped short when Sherlock stood on the stairs with his violin in hand.

"Good morning, Mycroft, does the government already have a problem they need me to fix for them?" Sherlock sneered, causing his older brother to roll his eyes and lean against his umbrella as Sherlock was the violin.

"We're managing just fine, actually," Mycroft replied. "I'm here to talk about Ms. Tyler."

"Oh? I thought I'd get arrested for that," Sherlock reminded Mycroft, who gave him a displeased look.

"Withdraw your offer to Ms. Tyler," Mycroft ordered.

"What offer?" Sherlock asked, frowning and forgetting for a moment his conversation with Rose before her mission, then he remembered and smirked at Mycroft.

"To move in to the flat downstairs."

"I don't see how where she lives effects you."

"Ms. Tyler is safer in the facility she is living in, were she to move in with you she would not have that same protection," Mycroft explained, though it sounded like more of an excuse.

"Ah, are you worried that if she isn't where you've placed her you'll loose your control on her?" Mycroft glared at his brother and took a step towards him, however Sherlock's placement on the stairs gave him an advantage in the staring contest. "You keep calling her the World's Biggest Asset, or the United Nations, but you won't admit the truth. You need me to leave her alone because I can spot your techniques. You're using her, you're using Rose and her abilities, whatever they are."

Mycroft scoffed and turned away from Sherlock, shaking his head and tapping the umbrella against the wall. "Contrary to your belief, Sherlock, I'm not the devil. Simply because you would like to solve her puzzle for your benefit does not mean I am using her as well."

"Are you implying that I'm, what? Stringing her along?" Sherlock stepped down from the stairs, letting his violin lean against the banister as he fixed his brother with a glare.

"She's just a case to you, and just like all of them you'll grow bored and toss her aside. I can't have her stuck in your basement when that happens." Mycroft waved his arm around, glaring at back and growing more heated than usual. "I've told you to leave her alone over and over, Sherlock, why can't you just listen?"

"She's a person! You can't just order me away from her because you want to keep her for yourself."

"Now whose making her out as an object," Mycroft shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Before the two brother could escalate the fight to name calling and told you so's, Mrs Hudson emerged from her flat with a tray of tea and biscuits. Both Holmes brothers turned to her with a scowl, though Sherlock was surprised to note Mrs. Hudson had a scowl on her aged face as well.

"Would the two of you please take this upstairs? I have a potential tenant arriving any minute."

Mycroft and Sherlock locked eyes over Mrs. Hudson's white hair and Sherlock smirked as he asked, "What's this woman's name?"

The door opened before Mrs. Hudson could answer, Mycroft stepped to the side of the room to avoid being hit as John and a grinning Rose Tyler stepped inside. Both of their eyes widened slightly at the congregation in the entrance hall. John looked as though he was trying to discern what mood the Holmes brothers were in, while Rose rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip.

"Mycroft Holmes, are you stalking me as well?" Rose joked, stepping inside as John closed the door behind him.

Sherlock took in Rose's casual attire, having never seen it before. She wore worn down jeans, trainers, a pink tank top with the jacket she wore on assignment. Her hair was in loose waves around her shoulders and she wore a smudge more of makeup than when she was working. Her whole appearance made her look younger, though her fashion taste showed she expected to be placed on a case even on her days off. She still wore the ever-present necklace, but the key was on full display now instead of being tucked in her shirt. She walked in with her hand tucked into the crook of John's elbow and from the lingering crumbs on both of their pants Sherlock assumed they had gone on another of their friendly dates once John finished his appointments.

"No," Mycroft drawled, stepping back in front of the door, hovering slightly behind Rose as she took the room in, noting the staircase up to Sherlock's apartment, the door Mrs. Hudson had just walked out of, and the stairs leading to what could be her apartment.

"That's good, I think I can only handle one Holmes brother stalking me at a time," Rose threw Sherlock a playful smile as she nudged John. Sherlock returned it with a small smile until Mrs. Hudson gasped.

"Sherlock! You're a stalker now?" Mrs. Hudson fretted, stepping closer to Rose as well.

John coughed on a chuckle and said, "Yeah, Sherlock, what horrible business." Rose grinned at the doctor while Mycroft looked at Sherlock with a smug expression.

"No, Mrs. Hudson, I'm not stalking Ms. Tyler," Sherlock explained with a roll of his eyes. "It was a hyperbole." Rose hummed but didn't correct him, just turned back to his brother who had raised an eyebrow at the clear lie.

"What are you doing here, Mycroft? John gave me the impression your interactions with your brother weren't as frequent as I've seen lately." The accusation that he was there for her was clear in her tone, and caused Mycroft to go on the defense and stand up straighter and lean less on his umbrella.

"Actually, I was here to discuss a case with Sherlock," Mycroft lied swiftly, pulling out a manila envelope from his jacket, that he then held to the side to not be asked further questions about it. John and Rose's eyes locked on the folder and as Mycroft opened his mouth to add more details to the lie they exchanged a smirk. Rose moved quickly and snatched the folder from his grasp, dancing away and landing at Sherlock's side.

"I think your brother just lied to me, Sherlock," she whispered conspiratorially, loud enough for the room to still here. Sherlock smirked down at her and nodded. "Thats what I thought, tsk tsk, what did I say earlier, John?"

"That if society knew all it took to confuse geniuses was a smart blonde the Cold War would have been far more interesting," John quoted, no longer hiding his clear amusement.

Rose tutted, "And here I thought I was quite trust worthy, I'm a great secret keeper, right, Sherlock." Sherlock hummed his agreements, watching as Rose tore open the envelope and scanned the contents quickly. "How odd, this doesn't look like a case, no, this is my report of weapons and arms I asked you to bring to the board later today." Rose looked back up at Mycroft with a lifted eyebrow.

"I do not think it wise for you to move, Ms. Tyler," Mycroft conceded, accepting he wasn't prepared to go up against her wits at the moment. "I was here to discuss the matter with Sherlock."

"Excuse me?" Rose spoke calmly, narrowing her eyes at Mycroft. Sherlock wasn't sure if he should laugh or step away- John did both.

"You're safer living in the facility you've been at for the past five years," Mycroft argued.

"Really? Because before we came inside I had the chance to introduce John to Lindsay and Mark who'd been watching that door. Funny how the guards that keep me safe at the facility couldn't keep me safe here," Rose argued, pointing over his shoulder to the dark door, while Sherlock scowled at Mycroft and John at Rose.

"You didn't say they'd been monitoring my movements!"

"Stop sending your people to watch me, Mycroft!" Sherlock complained.

Mycroft and Rose acted as though they hadn't heard a word, as they continued to converse while Mrs. Hudson looked as though she felt the need to excuse herself. "Their job at the compound is security, here it's watch and report."

"Well thats perfect, yeah?" Rose said with a sarcastic smile. "Seeing as I can protect myself better than any uninvested security guard, I think moving to a more comfortable living space thats not surrounded by military personnel is perfect. Now," Rose clapped her hands and turned to Mrs. Hudson who jumped at the unexpected sound. "I would love to see the apartment."

"Yes, of course!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed, moving away from the group with Rose following beside her.

"Mycroft, I'll see you on Monday. John, Sherlock, I expect help on move in day, yeah?" Rose called over her shoulder, turning around before walking down the stairs to nod to her colleague and then send a grin to Sherlock and John.

Mycroft huffed in annoyance, but stayed quiet as Rose left them, not speaking out to Sherlock's surprised. After being clearly dismissed, and having come to prevent what was happening, Sherlock expected Mycroft to leave as Rose took the tour, instead Mycroft made his way past Sherlock and up the stairs.

"Come, brother dear, we now have much to discuss," Mycroft baited.

John met Sherlock's eye and they nodded, accepting that they would hear whatever Mycroft was going to complain about until he got overly annoying. John followed Mycroft up the stairs, Sherlock followed after Rose shook her head at him watching her and closed the door to her new landing.

Mycroft let himself into the flat and moved to stand by the window, preventing Sherlock from claiming his chair, but John sat in his. Sherlock expected Mycroft to go through the motions and trail around the room to mess with Sherlock's belongings, but after asking for the door to be closed, Mycroft jumped right in.

"Ms. Tyler is going to move in downstairs," Mycroft declared, when John opened his mouth to interrupt, Mycroft held up a hand. "She wouldn't be touring if she hadn't already decided." Mycroft ensured he had Sherlock's full attention before continuing. "She will be moving out of the safest living condition's London, into an apartment that's been blown up too many times for my comfort."

"I survived didn't I?" John pointed out, Sherlock nodded, pointing out even Mrs. Hudson was alive.

"Yes," Mycroft drawled. "And in how many newspapers were your names mentioned after that incident?" John shrugged but Sherlock just looked on. "Ms. Tyler is perfectly capable of keeping herself safe, what protection she requires is my ability to keep her anonymous. On Baker St. that stops being a simple matter; with the people you've encountered, Sherlock, there are sure to be more than just my people watching the door. A new tenant will be seen and noted by people I've kept at bay."

The name of the consultant villain hung in the air, making Sherlock roll his shoulders and step further into the room. He passed John who watched his movements closely, gauging his reaction to create his own. Sherlock leaned against the mantle and turned back to the room. Mycroft stayed silent, not obliging to speak his request since Sherlock already understood it, John however was left looking between the two brothers and rolling his eyes.

"You told us to leave Rose alone," John pointed out, fishing for more information to catch up with Sherlock.

"And now he is asking for the opposite," Sherlock filled in, adopting an unreadable mask to match his brother's.

"Good, we are of agreement then. I don't expect weekly reports, not with you writing them, Sherlock, but-"

"No!"

"No."

John and Sherlock declined, John jumping up indignantly. Sherlock noticed his friend go on defense quickly and wondered at his reaction when Mycroft had asked the same of him but for Sherlock. He no longer wondered at John's relationship with Rose, as it had become similar to his with Sherlock but with a more goldfish feel to it. Sherlock admitted it to himself just once that he'd been happy about that.

"No reports," Sherlock continued, stepping past John to send him a look. He walked back to the door and opened it, motioning with his hand he expected an exit. "She will be protected, she won't be monitored."

"I see," Mycroft nodded, tapping his umbrella against the wooden floor once then headed towards the door. "I expect I will be seeing you two entirely too soon for us all."

John and Sherlock silently looked at one another as Mycroft made his way downstairs and out the door.


	17. Unpacking

Rose and John spent the next weekend moving Rose into 221C Bakker St, with the occasional stop for tea when Mrs. Hudson stopped in or breaks for John to berate Sherlock to come down and help. Eventually, when all the heavy lifting was over with and it was simply helping to organize, the detective did join the two friends in the basement to help Rose. However, no one was under any impressions he had left his chair to help, but instead to snoop. Rose had prepared for that of course. Over the past week, she had moved all the paperwork she'd kept to file later back to UNIT's base and some of it had actually been filed.

Rose wasn't entirely sure what her motive was for moving to the same building as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, but then she didn't know why he had offered either. If he wanted to peak at her belongings, he could have found a way to earn an invitation to the military compound, but instead he offered up a place to live that was two flights of stairs away from him. It made her heart race in ways she hadn't felt in years, but she consistently found logical reasons to calm her heart and guard it. This was Sherlock Holmes the unfeeling, sociopath, genius detective who cared about no one except Doctor John Watson. It was the Doctor and his love for only the TARDIS all over again, except instead of two hearts, Sherlock had one he pretended wasn't there.

Still, she couldn't stay away. While she had grown to truly care for John and enjoyed their time together immensely, Rose knew she sought him out on most occasions because John loved to complain about Sherlock and she just wanted to hear about him. It was unhealthy, she was going to get hurt, but she moved in and was happy with the flat and had her new best friend just upstairs. She'd get through whatever this was between her and Sherlock.

Rose was in the kitchen, finding the perfect way to organize her dishes to maximize space, when she heard the boys whispering an argument in her living room. Carrying the plates and bowls over to the cabinet next to the door, Rose started eavesdropping, feeling no shame as she listened to their conversation about her.

"It doesn't matter!" John insisted.

"Everything matters, John. How can I find out anything about her if she doesn't have anything?" Sherlock exclaimed. Rose heard him moving around the room towards the mantle. "During our first meeting I found out enough about you to deduce if I wanted you to be my flat mate simply by your walking and your phone. I was proven wrong by my deductions of Ms. Tyler from observing her person, now I need to observe her belongings and yet-" here, Rose could picture him turning in a circle with his arms spread to encompass the flat and, leaning back a bit to peep into the room, saw that was exactly what Sherlock did. "she has none."

Rose sighed and moved away from the door as John took up her defense, she didn't want to hear Sherlock speculate on why she had no family photos or mementos from before five years ago. Rose let him into her flat, knowing he wouldn't do any work and would be investigating her, because she knew he would find even less with her things than he did with her.

After organizing the kitchen, she moved back into the living room, sending a knowing smile Sherlock's way when John stopped mid-sentence. He nodded back to her but remained impassive otherwise. She felt his eyes follow her as she moved to the bookcase and reorganized the way the books were placed on there.

"You don't reread books." Sherlock stated, causing Rose's lips to tip up a bit, but she didn't turn around.

"Correct, and what have you learned from my books, Sherlock?" Rose asked, moving the Harry Potter collection to the top shelf and her collection of Charles Dickens books to the middle.

"That those books all have sentimental meaning for you," Sherlock deduced. Rose looked over her shoulder and saw he didn't look smug, but instead looked prepared for her to tell him he was wrong, which caused a bright smile to grow.

"What if I want them to make me look smart?"

"You don't need them for that," he disputed and though he meant it to continue his deductions and prove he was right, she still blushed at the unknown compliment he paid her. She turned back around as he observed her reaction too.

"Correct again."

Rose stood up from the fixed bookshelf and moved on to the bathroom. John had started breaking down empty boxes to take away and Sherlock followed Rose. Interested to see what he came up with next, Rose organized her towels and toiletries. Sherlock ignored her work however, and moved to the medicine cabinet.

"Rude," Rose called, causing Sherlock to freeze in his act of snooping. "Besides, what would pills tell you about me?"

"Past current and possible future medical conditions, pain tolerance, recent procedures, your doctors office, your insurance, the pharmacy and grocery store you frequent, your menstrual cycle, your birthday, your weight, your-"

Rose turned around and raised her hands to stop Sherlock, but she didn't know he had turned away from the sink and didn't remember the size of the bathroom. Instead of simply holding her hands in front of them both, they landed on his chest. Both paused with their mouths partially open in preparation for speaking and locked eyes. Rose was the first to pull away.

"Okay," she breathed, then took a deep breath and said clearer. "Thats enough, I don't need the full list, yeah?" She smiled hesitantly at Sherlock, who closed his mouth and drew his eyebrows together while he looked at her. Rose felt he wasn't going to say anything in reply, so she glanced around the bathroom but didn't spot anything that she could busy herself with.

"What do you do when you're injured in the field?"

Rose turned back to Sherlock in surprise, taking a moment to think of her answer as she thought about why he would ask that question. "I heal, why?"

"The medicine you own isn't enough to dull any real pain. As an active Brigadier you're in danger often and have to be injured on some occasion, but you have no proper medicine if that happens." Sherlock reached over and opened the medicine cabinet again, showing only mild pain relievers focused mainly on stomach or head aches.

"Do you?" Rose countered.

"Yes, and I have a doctor as a flat mate," Sherlock refuted. Rose was about to argue her point, when she registered the emotions in the air weren't ones meant for debate. A deep level of concern was emitting from Sherlock and is caused Rose to pause. Sherlock stared at her, waiting for a reply with his arms crossed, not giving any of his emotions away in his stance. Had she not been sharing space with Bad Wolf, Rose would have continued arguing in the defense for her field work abilities and the militaries medical abilities.

"Sherlock," Rose started, placing a hand on his crossed arms and smiling up at him. Her calm demeanor startled Sherlock into dropping his mask. "I'm good at my job, the best really. And if something happens to me, I've got John upstairs and hopefully you'll lend me some of that medicine, yeah?"

Sherlock nodded, then stepped back so her hand dropped off his arm. Rose bit her lip and turned away. "I'll go help John," Sherlock excused himself. Rose nodded but he already fled.

Sherlock must have found a way to convince John to leave, because by the time she composed herself and reentered the living room, they were both saying goodbye and heading upstairs. Rose walked them out, quoting taking out empty boxes as her reason for following them up the stairs to the first landing.

"What are your plans for tonight, John?" Rose asked as they walked, gratefully handing over the large stack of boxes to him when he offered. "It is a Saturday night and I ruined Friday night for you."

"It was hardly ruined," John brushed aside her joke, landing at the top of the stairs with a heavy sigh. "But I do have a date tonight." Rose smiled as he blushed and nudged Sherlock in the ribs when he rolled his eyes.

"Thats great! Is it with that waitress who left her number on our last date? She was very happy when we said we were just friends," Rose inquired, leaning up against the door and watching Sherlock start to assent the stairs without another word. John walked up as well, but backwards to finish the conversation.

"Yeah, her names Jennifer, I'm taking her to a movie because I figured she didn't want to go to a restaurant after work." John shrugged.

"That's fantastic, John, have fun tonight!" Rose exclaimed, waving to him as he turned around and walked through the door Sherlock held open for him. Rose watched John give his flat mate an odd look for holding the door, but Sherlock didn't see it. Rose found herself shaking her head at Sherlock inquisitive look, but mostly at herself.

Sherlock opened his mouth to say something to her, but a door in the hall opened, breaking their gaze as Mrs. Hudson walked into the room. "Rose, do you need help with those, dear?" She asked, her purse on her shoulder and new heels on.

"That's alright, Mrs. Hudson, I can manage these."

"Well, let me take two at least, I'm headed out anyways."

"Okay, thank you," Rose said, glancing up in time to see Sherlock turn away and close the door.

"Oh, its nothing, dear."

Rose smiled at the sweet woman who started up a conversation about all the times she had to move with her late husband. Which then turned into one of the most amusing conversations Rose had ever taken part of. Eventually, after Rose expressed her concern for Mrs. Hudson standing out in the cold, the landlady revealed she was waiting for a man to pick her up for a date and used Rose as an excuse so she didn't have to talk to the boys about it. Rose let the woman be picked up on her own, and went back inside to finish unpacking and organizing her new home.


	18. Nightmares

She had nothing. No mementos, no knickknacks, and no photos except of a few skylines. She had nothing to give him anything. And while he was upset that his biggest puzzle still remained a mystery despite moving in downstairs, Sherlock was beyond frustrated that he didn't care about not knowing anything else about her. Instead of going to his mind palace to examine all he had seen, Sherlock was stuck on the fact that she had nothing.

She'd told him she was alone and he thought she was being metaphorical. She'd told him her parents and sibling died and he thought she was alone in her family but had friends. Rose Tyler wasn't using a hyperbole when she said she was alone. Five years ago, something catastrophic happened to her and left her not only homeless and relying on Mycroft, but completely alone without any of her belongings and in a situation that made it impossible to recover any of it.

Sherlock Holmes had to escape the flat because he felt her pain, the one she hid, he was feeling sympathy for her and that didn't happen. Rose Tyler elicited feelings in him, feelings he pushed down and feelings he didn't understand. He wanted to keep his distance, nearly wanted to drop all interest in a self-saving move, but the thought of never seeing her, of hurting her in order to keep her away was unbearable.

He'd been sitting musing for what must have been a couple hours when he was violently pulled from his thoughts. As unaware of time passing and events happening around him, Sherlock had to stand up from his chair quickly to discern what had startled him. Nothing was moved, there was no one in the flat because the door opening would have alerted him. Nothing was amiss.

A piercing, feminine scream coming from downstairs penetrated the quiet. Sherlock found his legs moving before he registered who was screaming. Practically flying down the stairs and hitting few of them, Sherlock banged into Rose's locked front door until it broke under his weight, all the while she was still yelling out.

"Rose!" Sherlock called in a frantic manner, taking in the empty living room and kitchen, then running into her bedroom. He didn't know what he expected to see when he entered Rose's room, mainly someone hurting her, but he stumbled from what he did see.

The blankets had been pushed to the bottom of the bed by earlier kicking caused by what must have been an easier nightmare than what Rose was experiencing now. With the covers off her body, Sherlock could clearly see her body thrashing against the invisible bonds in the dream. She was crying out for someone to stop when he walked in, but then the scream he heard escaped her lip as her body convulsed in a way she couldn't make up in her mind unless she had previously gone through it.

"Rose," Sherlock called, falling on to the bed and shaking her shoulders. "Rose, wake up!"

"STOP IT!" Rose begged, tears leaking out of both eyes.

"Rose!" Sherlock shook her harder, grasping her shoulder to hold her down as her body thrashed against him, finally finding a solid object to move against.

"LET ME GO! Please!" Rose cried out, her hands found Sherlock's shoulders.

"ROSE!" Sherlock shouted.

Rose's eyes snapped open. They were brighter than he had seen them, almost like they were illuminating themselves, but before he could look at them for more than a millisecond, she was fighting back. Rose used her grip on his shoulder to flip herself over him and hold him against her in a firm headlock. She didn't squeeze tight enough to cut off air or make him pass out, but just enough that he was held in place.

"Rose," Sherlock whispered. She had one arm held behind his back, so Sherlock used the other to lightly touch her hand. "It was a nightmare, Rose, you're safe now."

"Sh-Sherlock?" Rose asked, letting him go and stumbling against the wall with a sob. "I'm so sorry! I've never done that before and- did I wake you?" Sherlock turned and softly took Rose's arms to pull her off the wall she was leaning on too heavily. The moment her weight was off the wall, she stumbled forward and sobbed against Sherlock's chest. "I'm sorry."

"You're safe now, Rose, I'm going to keep you safe," Sherlock vowed, wrapping his arms around her thin shoulders and pulling her tighter. He slowly sat down on the bed, keeping Rose wrapped around him as she cried into his arms. Sherlock didn't let his brain think for the moment, didn't consider why he wanted her to be close to him, why he felt it was his job to comfort her, or why he was happy with how well she fit in his arms. For once, he gave up complete control to his heart and shut the brain off.

She shook in his arms as she cried and released the adrenaline she'd built up while fighting the nightmare, and the whole time Sherlock reminded her she was safe and he would protect her. Eventually, the sobbing ended and the tears dried, but neither of them moved. Sherlock didn't loosen his grip on her body, holding her close to his and Rose didn't lift her head from his heart or make any move to lie back down. They sat in silence for a long time, Sherlock stared down at her but Rose kept her eyes closed as she used the sound of his heart to calm down.

"I have PTSD," Rose whispered, closing her eyes tighter.

"I know," Sherlock replied, because after tonight, he didn't think he'd ever forget that fact.

"I'm getting over it though, it's just nightmares now." Rose sounded like she was trying to assure him and herself, but Sherlock shook his head.

"And you keep your back to walls in restaurants, you don't form lasting relationships with people, and you don't eat enough," Sherlock listed off, finally getting her to open her eyes. "Sorry," Sherlock said, feeling he probably shouldn't list her symptoms at the moment. She closed her eyes to sigh, then to Sherlock immense disappointment, she sat up and moved away from him, crawling to the top of her bed to lean against the headboard. Sherlock stayed sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her.

"I didn't know I was loud when I slept, none of my previous neighbors complained," Rose explained, fiddling with the pillow next to her instead of meeting his gaze.

"In a military compound, I imagine they're use to it." Rose nodded hesitantly, glancing up then back down.

She didn't say anything for a few minutes, and wouldn't meet his stare. Eventually, Sherlock thought she wanted him to go, so he stood from the bed. Immediately, her hand reached out and clutched his wrist to hold him in place. Sherlock looked from her death grip on his wrist up to her fearful eyes.

"You're safe, Rose," Sherlock reminded her.

"I- I know," Rose said, not loosening her hold. "Just, its a new place so it triggered some not so fun dreams and I think maybe having someone here might help, maybe," Rose rambled, biting her lip at the end of it and looking at him hopefully.

"You want me to stay with you?" Sherlock could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ear, nearly drowning out his words. If he couldn't title any of his other feelings at that moment, Sherlock still knew that he wanted her to say yes. Why, he didn't know. But he wanted to be the one to protect her from the dreams. And damn everything Mycroft ever taught him, Sherlock wanted to hold her till she calmed down enough to sleep peacefully.

"Just for a little while, I promise, you can bring a chair in or-"

Sherlock cut her off before she rambled herself into a panic attack. "Okay."

"Really?" Rose let his arm go, he just smiled a bit and nodded.

He had no intention of carrying a chair into her bedroom, so he sat back down on the bed, this time leaning against the headboard next to her. She sat stiffly next to him, her tear tracks drying and her breathing steadying, but she still was fiddling with the pillow, glancing at him nervously. Sherlock sighed a sigh he didn't mean and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him so she could lay her head on his chest again.

"Thank you," she breathed, clutching his shirt for a second until she relaxed. Sherlock pulled her closer and wrapped both arms around her, settling back and closing his eyes as well, listening to her breathe as she listened to his heart beat.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Rose! Do you know where Sherlock is? I can't- Woah!"

Rose's eyes popped open staring up, expecting to see the ceiling and instead saw Sherlock's eyes open as well. He stared at her unmoving, and though his arms were securely around her, Rose still was the one to move first. Once she did he sprang out of the bed, staring at John staring at them.

"Did you- How-" Rose and Sherlock stared at John stutter through what must have been a very long list of questions. "What happened between- Were you-"

"John," Rose stopped him, but wished she hadn't because when he settled his eyes on her she could better read his emotions and they caused her to blush deeply and drop her eyes. This, of course, didn't help the situation.

"Oh my god! You did, didn't you? You two slept together?" John exclaimed. Rose heard Sherlock sigh and chanced a glance up to see him roll his eyes at his best friend and shake his head.

"Obviously, John, we-"

John blushed just as much as Rose was now and covered his ears. "Nope. No, I don't want to hear about you two having sex!"

"Sex?" Sherlock questioned, looking down to the blushing Rose then to the blushing doctor. "I didn't have sex with Rose."

"But-"

"John, I'd hoped I'd taught you more about deducing than this," Sherlock complained, then motioned between Rose and himself. "We have our clothes on and neither of us were under the sheets. Obviously we fell asleep at some point, but that hardly means we slept together."

John was driven speechless, he just stood in the door with his mouth agape staring at them both. Rose didn't know what to do. Sherlock was looking down at her with an expression she couldn't read and he was too confused about his own emotions to give her a clear feeling. She'd known she had bad nightmares and that she thrashed around in her sleep from seeing the aftermath, but she'd never waken up from the screams and Mycroft, who kept a close watch on her living accommodations, never mentioned it. Surely if her screaming was enough to scare Sherlock into staying the night with her, someone had to had noticed before.

"Breakfast, anyone?" Rose asked, desperate to break the silence. She stood before they could answer and headed out the door, grateful she had chosen modest pajamas last night. She turned the corner quickly despite making it a slightly longer walk to the kitchen to cut off the boys view of her. Roughly running a hand over her face and through her hair, she tried to push the sleep out of her mind to gain back control and think properly.

He stayed all night. He held her all night. But it didn't mean anything. He froze when he realized what happened and hadn't said a word to her yet. Rose knew geniuses that hated emotions better than anyone and Sherlock would be devising a way to push her away until he felt he'd gained back control. That was why she moved first and left the room first. She knew he wanted space, but didn't want to watch him move away from her so she'd just do it for him.

John followed her into the kitchen while Sherlock stayed in the living room to wait for it to be ready. Silently, the two fixed tea and some eggs, but the whole time John watched her movements and his emotions were clear that he was still confused and on high alert.

"It was a nightmare," Rose finally said, taking the kettle off and pouring tea.

"You had-," John cleared his throat. "He heard you?" John asked, and she felt his shift in emotions and saw him change. She'd picked up on some of his own PTSD inclined behavior and knew bringing up nightmares was enough to alert him.

"Yeah, um, yeah." Rose handed him the tea. "He did, I don't know how, but he woke me up."

"You knocked him out? That's why he slept there?" John asked incredulously, though there was a small smile forming.

"No, I didn't hurt him." John looked unsure about that so she shrugged. "I had him in a headlock for a moment but I let him go and I didn't have it very tight so he was fine."

Rose ducked her head and started cleaning the kettle, the nightmare had spooked her last night and still had her on edge that morning. It wasn't anywhere near the first nightmare, but they'd been getting easier to deal with and the rise in intensity of this one shocked her into attacking Sherlock when waking up. That had probably been the most rattling experience she'd had since being diagnosed with PTSD. She didn't come in contact with many people or places that reminded her of what happened so she'd rarely been triggered into reliving the events, she didn't even know she was vocal in her nightmares. Coming to full consciousness and realizing she had Sherlock's neck held tightly in her arms was far more daunting than reliving torture in a dream.

John placed his hand on hers and smiled down at her until she took a deep breath and smiled back. Rose had daily contact with soldiers, but John, with his addiction to adrenaline and ability to handle emotional geniuses, was by far her favorite.

"Sherlock, breakfast," John shouted into the room. When there was no reply, they both peaked into the living room then the bedroom, but Sherlock was missing. "He must have gone to change or-"

Sherlock walked in through the hole that use to be Rose's front door. "I'll fix that when I get back," Sherlock indicated the door he broke down, wrapping his scarf around his neck.

John gawked at the offer to fix something, looking between Rose and Sherlock who only were looking at each other. Rose felt Sherlock's unease, distress, and a high level of curiosity, and wondered aloud where he was going.

"Out," was Sherlock's curt reply. Rose frowned and tried to read his expression since his emotions weren't giving her a clear answer. Before she could read into his stare, he turned and fled.

"Well that was-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw John cut himself off as he turned fully towards her. She was still staring at the steps Sherlock had just ascended and could imagine from the pain in her chest what John was seeing play out on her face.

"Oh."

Rose closed her eyes and turned back to the kitchen, grabbing tea and eggs and sitting down to listen to John tell her everything she's already heard about not falling in love with a genius.

"You and Sherlock?" John sat down slowly, the expression of bewilderment would have been comical in any other situation.

"No, just me."

"Rose-"

"I know, John. I've heard it all. Don't fall in love with a God. He doesn't feel things the same way we do. He'll outlive you. He'll loose interest. I know." Rose's voice was desperate because for once, she didn't think John could understand. He was the bachelor, he went on dates with goldfishes and enjoyed their company, he wouldn't be able to fathom someone falling for Sherlock.

"Don't be stupid," John scoffed. "I wasn't going to say any of that, its horrible advice." John shook his head and ran a hand down his face. "I'm not a good person to give romantic advice, Rose, my longest relationship lately has only lasted five months. But I'd like to think I know Sherlock better than most people, and that-" John pointed at the broken door. "That I've never seen Sherlock do for anyone he didn't care about. And offering to fix it?" John shook his head. "I don't know whats happening between the two of you, but I've noticed how he acts differently towards you. I can't claim to know what goes on inside that blasted head, but he cares about you, Rose, and I think you're good for him."

Rose didn't know what to think. Her stomach was already doing flips just from the sliver of hope John was giving her, but she refused to accept it. Mickey and her mum warned her over and over not to fall in love with the Doctor, that she'd get hurt, and thats what happened.

She knew Sherlock wasn't the Doctor, he was human and a genius detective, but most of all he didn't make Rose feel insignificant or unworthy. The Doctor made Rose feel like she stood out among her stupid apes, but there was always the line between her intelligence and his. It was unfair to compare Sherlock to the Doctor when, within twenty four hours of meeting her, Sherlock was telling her she wasn't ordinary, that she was on his level. Sherlock saw her as an equal, and that might have scared him more than Rose's short life span scared the Doctor.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock's mind had been overactive since John woke him up from the longest night of sleep he'd had sober in years. He was taken aback when he opened his eyes to see Rose's golden hazel eyes opening as well, he was so stupefied that he didn't think to release his hold on her body or to move away and talk to John. It took Rose moving away from him and watching a blush crawl up her neck, to react to the situation and recall the events that led to it.

After that, he couldn't stop seeing Rose screaming and convulsing in pain every time he looked at her. Sherlock forced himself to stiffly stand away from her or he knew he'd go back to where he woke up -on the bed holding her close.

Once Rose and John left the room, Sherlock fled to his flat, with full intentions of ignoring everything that happened and spending a few weeks avoiding Rose, but then he passed through the door he broke down. The night before, he'd been prepared to take down anything to insure Rose was safe, but he couldn't protect her from nightmares, especially if he didn't know their origins.

So he found himself leaving the flat and getting a taxi to the warehouse he stood waiting in. He didn't have to text or call his brother, all he had to do was show up and wait for Mycroft to be told where he was.

Sherlock was loathe to ask for help from Mycroft, especially with Rose, but Mycroft had known her for years and had to at least know what was causing her nightmares. Whatever her past was, Mycroft could keep that information, for now, Sherlock only needed to know how to help her.

He heard the click of Mycroft's business shoes approaching, but stayed leaning against the wall looking out the window. Mycroft stopped a few feet away and observed Sherlock.

"You heard her," Mycroft observed, his tone suggesting they were discussing a past case instead of Rose screaming in agony.

Sherlock whipped around. "You knew?!"

Mycroft rolled his eyes, "Do try to hide your emotions for a moment, Sherlock, its only polite." Sherlock scoffed and pushed away from the window to pace the empty room. "Of course I know Ms. Tyler has nightmares, but as she has always come to work well rested and been able to perform at her top, I saw no reason to worry."

"You obviously never heard her," Sherlock snarked, facing Mycroft directly. "What are they about?"

"You don't-"

"Damnit, Mycroft!" Sherlock stepped forward and pointed in his brothers face. "I'm not trying to hurt your colleague, I'm trying to help her!"

Mycroft stared at Sherlock, seemingly unmoved. He lifted a hand and pushed Sherlock's finger out of his face and then sighed. "When I met Ms. Tyler and realized her skill set, we made a deal. I was to protect her and create a past identity for her, and she was allowed to keep the secrets of her past to herself."

"You don't know anything about her." Sherlock wasn't sure how to feel about that. It meant the only one who had his answers was the one with the puzzle, but he also was infinitely relieved that Mycroft didn't know either.

"No," Mycroft drawled, clearly upset his secret was revealed.

"So you don't know whats causing the nightmares?"

Mycroft paused and pursed his lips, leaning on the umbrella. "I've gathered very little about her past. As I'm sure you know, she is alone, I wasn't able to locate any family or friends. She was alone when I met her five years ago as well and refuses to talk about how her family died." Sherlock filed that information away as Mycroft paused. "However, it isn't as discernible now, I'm sure you were unable to pick up on it, but when I met her it was obvious to anyone."

Sherlock ignored Mycroft's petty jab at his intelligence and waited for him to continue, when he didn't Sherlock rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't pick it up, Mycroft. Just tell me what happened to Rose."

"She has scars on her body that indicate both torture and various illegal methods of testing. Ms. Tyler was held captive and tortured for over six months by an organization she has never revealed. Somehow, she escaped to back to London, I met her possibly two weeks after she arrived."

"And they're the ones that erased her history?" Sherlock asked, barely keeping his anger in check.

"I believe so." Mycroft nodded.

That was all Sherlock needed. He briskly walked past Mycroft and out of the building, ignoring Mycroft calling then demanding him to walk back. His mind was solely focused on returning to Rose, there was no stopping him now.

Tortured. Tested on like an animal. And he hadn't picked up on any of it. She'd been indignant for the animals in Baskerville, but no more than most women. Sherlock should have seen something to indicate it, especially at first when he was observing her every action and reaction, no one should be able to hide that information so well.

Sherlock didn't know what information to focus on anymore. It all kept running over itself in his head with her screams echoing around his chest. There was nothing he could do, didn't even know why he had to do something. The only coherent thought was he needed to get back to the flat and see her.

Finally, after the taxi driver took an unnecessary longer route to avoid traffic, Sherlock arrived at 221B Baker St. He threw the money at the cabbie and flew out the door. He paused in the entrance hall, and located John upstairs in their flat and Rose in her flat. Sherlock hesitated now that he was there, facing the stairs leading down to her. What would he say? He couldn't bring up her captivity, he knew that would be too far even for himself. But he wanted to help her.

Before he could make the decision, Rose stepped through the hole in her wall and started walking up the stairs, pausing in the middle of them when she looked up and saw him staring at her. She stared back at him, waiting for him to say something.

He saw them. The scars. Her skin was pale and beautifully hid the white lines lining her arms and neck. Sherlock felt anger like he'd never known before well up inside of him, and he had no one to aim it at. All he could focus on was the woman in front of him and the words his brother said.

Torture.

Testing.

More than six months.

Escaped.

Alone.

alone.

"Dinner?" Sherlock blurted out, his and Rose's eyes widening at the question.

"Dinner?" Rose repeated, stepping up a stair. "It's four?"

"Is it?" Sherlock looked around the room as though there was a clock in there when he knew there wasn't. Why had he asked her to dinner? Sherlock turned back to Rose and spotted her frowning. "If we order now it will be here by five though?"

"You want to order dinner?"

"Chinese?" Sherlock asked, pleased to see a smile growing on Rose's lips.

"Alright," Rose smiled, though she still seemed unsure what his motives were.

"Were you headed out?" Sherlock asked, glancing over her clothes and position on the stairs.

Rose nodded, "Theres a chance I'm being sent out later this week to ease a possibly hostile situation, but I'm hoping the team I sent ahead can handle it. I trained them after all." Sherlock frowned at the idea of her leaving, especially on a potentially dangerous situation, but didn't speak out against it.

"I'll see you when you get back then?" Sherlock asked, watching a number of emotions play across her face, most of all confusion and what appeared to be hope.

"Yeah."

Sherlock nodded and then turned away to walk up the stairs, pausing at the top stairs and glanced down to see Rose still standing in bewilderment. He didn't stop the smile from forming as he caught her watching him, or from widening when she blushed.

Rose Tyler was a puzzle. She had a mystery dark past and secret present. She could hide every detail of herself but was willing to answer any questions she could. And the most exciting part, was she was dangerous and Sherlock loved it.


	19. Waiting Room

"Hello?" John picked up his phone, taking off his medical gloves in anger, having been interrupted from his appointment by his secretary informing him his phone kept going off. Apparently there was an emergency, which only meant Sherlock was bored again.

Since Rose had left the week before, the two men had felt the absence of their new flatmate keenly. She'd had dinner with them every evening since she moved in and John found he loved her even more for her uncanny ability to stop Sherlock's annoying tendencies from taking over. He'd been watching the two interact much closer now that the feelings he thought he detected in one or both of them had been confirmed by Rose, but he'd gotten nowhere with Sherlock.

The detective was always watching Rose and seeking out her company, but while he sometimes showed signs of affection, most of the time John caught him poking for information. When Rose left the week before, was the second time John ever doubted his adamant belief that dating wasn't Sherlock, the first being with Irene Adler. John had been sure Sherlock felt something for the Woman, with him keeping her text tone being John's main evidence, but Sherlock's complete disregard for her after the case was closed made John reconsider his thoughts on Sherlock's sexuality. But watching Rose and Sherlock say goodbye, John was sure Sherlock was feeling something for the blonde, no one could fake the look of genuine fear Sherlock had in his eyes as Rose left for an unknown mission for her mystery job.

"Dr. Watson," Mycroft's voice filtered through the phone. "May I speak with my brother, he seems to be ignoring my calls today."

"Mycroft, I'm at work, I don't just sit around with Sherlock all day," John snapped. "Go to the flat if you need to talk to him, but I have to get back to my patients."

"Thats not an option at the moment, I have to stay where I am."

"I'm not leaving work to tell your brother to stop being a child, I'd loose my job if I did that every time he was." John was seriously considering telling his secretary to block Mycroft's number, but was thinking about all the way that would eventually backfire as Mycroft replied.

"John this is a matter of importance, I need to inform Sherlock about sensitive information that-"

"Mycroft, I don't care right now. Give the case to someone that actually works for you." John was preparing to hangup on the man, feeling rather excited to get to do so, when Mycroft sighed deeply.

"It's not a case, John. It's Ms. Tyler."

John froze, bracing himself against the wall as all the air left his body. The only information they were given on what Rose would be doing was she was going into a hostile situation between to unknown groups to find a way to settle it peacefully, she seemed so sure she could too.

"Is she- what happened? Is she okay?" John demanded.

"That is classi-"

"Mycroft Holmes, tell me if she is okay."

"She is in surgery, vitals are stable but she hasn't woken up since she was hurt," Mycroft vaguely explained.

"What hospital are you at?" John asked, walking out of the room and motioning to another doctor he had to leave.

"Find Sherlock first."

"Sherlock doesn't know," John's walking faltered a moment. He remembered how worried he was for his friend when they thought Ms. Adler was dead the first time, and he'd only met her one two occasions. With Rose- Rose _had_ to be okay. "I'm going to get him now." Mycroft made a sound of approval, then hung up.

Rose had to be okay. They had known her for just over five months, but she had integrated herself into their daily lives so efficiently that Sherlock and John had keenly felt her absence in the past week. And now she might not wake up due to a mission they had no information on and most likely wouldn't be given information on at the hospital either; Sherlock was not going to be happy.

John rushed home as fast as he could, calling ahead to try to get a hold of Sherlock but going to voicemail each time. When he arrived, he flew up the stairs and opened the door with a bang, gasping for breath only a little and looking around for his roommate. Sherlock walked out of the kitchen, John watched Sherlock's eyes flick over him in an almost unnoticeable glance, but something about his state showed Sherlock it was an emergency because Sherlock went to clean up his experiment without being told.

"Whats happened?" Sherlock spoke calmly, but John saw his deep frown and noticed he only fixed the experiment so it wouldn't effect the flat while he was gone.

"It's Rose," John declared, wincing when the empty flask fell from Sherlock's grasp and hit the counter top with an echoing ping.

"Where is she?" Sherlock gave John his full attention everything else leaving his mind.

"Mycroft is suppose to send the location when I tell him I'm with you." Sherlock started moving at John's first words and picked up his phone from the desk, clicking on a new message from Mycroft and reading out the address. "I didn't know there was a hospital over there."

"She's in a hospital," Sherlock said, taking in the information and filing it away. "Of course she was brought to a private, military hospital, she's Brigadier and a director." John nodded, and followed after Sherlock as he ran out of the flat and into the street, hailing a cab. "What do you know," Sherlock demanded, jumping in a cab as it pulled up and reading the address to the cabbie as John climbed in.

"She is in surgery, Mycroft said she is stable but hasn't woken up since she was hurt," John informed Sherlock, worrying when Sherlock didn't reply. "Rose will be okay."

"You're an army doctor, John. Don't get sentimental," Sherlock snapped.

The rest of the cab ride was silent, Sherlock stared out the window, tapping his shoes incessantly, and John occasionally glanced away from the passing buildings to worriedly look over his friend. He texted Mycroft it would be a danger night, to which he replied: I'm aware.

The building they pulled up in front of was titled as a boot factory, but after the taxi drives away, uniformed men and women opened and closed the front doors. They stood facing Sherlock and John without a word or movement between them. John took a step forward, pulling out his badge, but when he moved they all moved in unison to point their guns at him.

"Sorry!" John yelped, holding his arms up with his badge in hand. "I'm Captain John Watson, Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers." None of the soldiers reacted to his statement and continued pointing their guns at him and Sherlock until the doors behind them opened and they stood back to attention.

"Mycroft," Sherlock greeted, walking past John, completely unfazed by the line of soldiers.

"Sherlock, this way. John, put your badge away, it doesn't work at UNIT," Mycroft shook his head at John, who frowned and looked back at the soldiers who walked in behind them and bolted the doors. They'd walked into a dimly lit, cement hallway with several doors and elevators lining the walls.

"This is UNIT?" John asked, taking it all in and looking to Sherlock to see what he was observing, but Sherlock's eyes were locked on the door at the end of the hallway with 'Medical' labeled above it.

"Part of it," Mycroft replied vaguely. "Its the only building with a Medical Bay that Ms. Tyler can be omitted to."

"What?" John scrunched up his face. "Why?"

Sherlock looked over his shoulder and gave John his typical 'don't be an idiot, John' face. "She has no past, John," he reminded him.

"Among other things," Mycroft said, scanning his badge when they reached the entrance to the bay. Once the door was unlocked, Sherlock strode in and located the front desk without a second thought about being in a secret military organization base.

"I need an update of Brigadier Rose Tyler's condition," Sherlock practically shouted at the soldier behind the desk who scowled in reply.

"You don't have clearance for the Brigadier's condition, only those written down as family has access to the Brigadier's condition," the woman replied, John stepped up next to Sherlock.

"We were invited here by Mycroft Holmes, we have clearance," John supplied kinder, however the woman turned cold eyes on him next.

"Mycroft Holmes is not a member of UNIT, I report to Director Brigadier Tyler only," the woman replied curtly. "And the two of you do not have clearance."  
Sherlock's eyes flashed and fists closed tightly, so John raised his hands to place it on his shoulder but Mycroft beat him to it, pulling Sherlock from the desk. "Go sit down and I'll get the update, brother." Sherlock glared at his older brother but huffed and walked away. John stayed behind to hear the full report, but the woman gave him another stink eye that sent him after Sherlock.

The two men sat in complete silence, doctors and nurses were coming to and from the reception desk exchanging papers, but they were the only two in the waiting room. Mycroft gave the report that Rose was still in surgery but would be out in an hour if there were no complications, then took a seat behind them and waited as well. For the first five minutes, John watched the door he had seen the most doctors walk out of, waiting for news, then watched Sherlock finally sit up straight in his chair and seemingly come out of a daze. He'd been quiet during Mycroft's report and had spent a while contemplating what must have been a number of things until he finally needed something else to focus on.

"Family members of UNIT soldiers are not privy to what the soldiers jobs actually are, most believe they actually work in a boot factory unless the soldiers do field work, then UNIT uses the army as its cover up," Sherlock rambled in a whisper to John.

"How do you know?" John indulged Sherlock, understanding the need for a distraction.

"Lack of response to your rank in the army and absence of family members for the other doctor's patients. A cover story would be required to explain any injuries and factories and the army are adequate enough for few questions to arise."

"So the soldiers outside are the guards?" John asked, glancing at the few that had followed them into the waiting room and stood next to the door conversing.

"They're Rose's team," Sherlock answered, behind them Mycroft nodded though he was mostly focused on the paperwork he was getting ahead of.

"What? How do you know that?" John asked, actually curious this time.

"Reaction, rank, training, and they all have badges for being UNIT First Class, and thats the team Rose leads."

"So they're here protecting Rose?" John asked, looking over his shoulder at Mycroft who didn't appear to be paying attention anymore.

"Or supporting," Sherlock said, looking towards the soldiers at the door. John had thought they were glancing at them, but he realized they too were looking towards the doors leading further into the medical wing.

"So that means the problem she went to fix is over?" John concluded, Sherlock and him looked to Mycroft, who looked up and nodded, then stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Yes, Ms. Tyler's injury caused the conflicting sides to stop long enough for words to be exchanged and a solution to be set in place. Would the two of you please inform her of that once she wakes up, I have more business I need to attend to today."

Sherlock stood up as well and stared his brother down. "I get updated now that you're gone."

Mycroft sighed and rolled his eyes, "Sherlock, only family can be updated."

"You're being updated," Sherlock pointed out with a glare. John stayed seated between them looking back and forth, worried he would have to break them up in a military facility.

"I was the only person she knew at the time," Mycroft explained. Sherlock stepped around John and leaned close to Mycroft.

"I'm getting updated every hour on her condition and every time it changes."

Mycroft stared at Sherlock for a long moment. The two Holmes brothers were gaining attention from the soldiers at the door but they didn't pay anyone any mind as the continued their staring contest. When Mycroft blinked first, Sherlock smirked and sat back down, motioning for Mycroft to go ahead.

Mycroft groaned, but did end up ordering for Sherlock to get what he wanted.

On the dot, when the hour passed, Sherlock was at the desk demanding information on Rose's file and what room she was located in. However, there had been unknown complications during the surgery, complications that weren't being released to anyone in or out of UNIT until the director was conscious and alerted. John's thoughts were running around all medical problems they could have been discovered that would be kept confidential, while Sherlock went on a rampage about incompetent doctors and withholding patient information from those who have the right by law to have it.

To all of his complaints and snarky replies, the soldier behind the desk said, "This is UNIT, sir."

She left no room for argument which only made Sherlock angrier and louder. Eventually, the members of Rose's elite team walked over and escorted Sherlock back to his seat, then stood closer to the waiting area than before, glancing between the doors and Sherlock. Then the waiting game started again and Sherlock was even more irritable and impatient. The detective would slip in and out of his mind palace with no warning, and when he came out of it he was always more upset than before. John didn't know how to help his friend, especially with his own emotions running wild as well.

"She's going to wake up," John whispered.

"Don't get emotional, John, of course she will," Sherlock snapped, not bothering to turn away from the doors Sherlock was trying to burn a hole into. John looked at his friend and watched him closely.

Sherlock was pale, and his hands were shaking despite being clasped tightly under his chin. Though it was a typical habit, his hair was a mess from running his hand threw it and his tapping foot suggested how prepared he was to jump out of the seat, though that was also obvious by how far forward he was leaning on his legs. He was a wreck. John had never seen him like this, he'd seen Sherlock distressed before, but it'd never been drawn out like this. When he'd been scared for John's life at the pool, there was a situation he could focus on, and in Baskerville, when he'd been drugged, despite being surprised to see Sherlock scared, Sherlock had lashed out like usual. Nothing prepared John to deal with a worried Sherlock, he hadn't thought it possible.

John's phone began to ring, stopping him from speaking again. He picked up and listened as his secretary explained a patients status and the need for his presence. "I'm sorry, I'm at another hospital waiting for information on a friend, have one of the other doctors-" John sighed and glanced at Sherlock and back at the door. "Alright, I'll only be there until Dr. Roberts shows up, then he can take my place. ... Okay. ... Fine. ... Goodbye." John snapped the phone shut and stood up, turning to Sherlock.

"Keep me updated, I have to go back to work," John explained, shrugging on his coat.

"Okay," Sherlock agreed, not looking away form the door.

"You're staying?" John ensured, glancing around at the room of strangers, many of them people that could get Sherlock arrested if he wasn't monitored. John didn't want to leave Sherlock alone, without Mycroft or John he would be a risk, but there was nothing he could do about it unless he wanted his patient to get worse. "I could call Mycroft."

"I'm not a child, John," Sherlock snapped, finally turning away from the door.  
"Okay, just text me if she wakes up or-"

"I'll text you when she wakes up," Sherlock interrupted, giving John a nasty look for his implication that Rose wouldn't come out of this alive and healthy. John nodded, then walked away, pulling out his phone to text Mycroft anyways.


	20. Lupus

Humans are told at a young age they have five senses: touch, sound, taste, smell, and sight. Its a complete lie, in reality we have around twenty senses, including the sense of hunger, thirst, muscle tension and passage of time. It was the sense of time that Sherlock always seemed to ignore. He'd enter his mind palace and only exit when he'd come to a conclusion or one of his senses called his attention away, and when he'd reawaken, he would have no idea how much time had pass, nor did he ever care. But while waiting for Rose to wake up, Sherlock found he felt each tick of the clock resonate in his body.

He'd been there for two hours, thirty-two minutes, and fifteen seconds. He'd found out Rose had been injured three hours, two minutes, and forty-three seconds ago. His last update had been thirty minutes and twelve seconds ago, and it hadn't changed despite a whole hour passing. Rose was out of surgery, there were classified complications that happened in surgery, Rose was asleep, Rose was healing, Rose was asleep.

Rose may not wake up, the doctor had warned him during his last update. The man had said it, thinking he was preparing Sherlock and her team that was listening closely to the update, but Sherlock didn't need to be prepared. Without having any concrete information, he'd still worked out every possible outcome of Rose's injuries and complications, he was more prepared than the doctor was.

John and Mycroft had been texting him, giving their personal excuses why they weren't waiting for Rose to wake up and still asking him for updates. Sherlock ignored all these texts, focusing on the door the doctor would walk through any second to tell him Rose was awake.

She had to wake up.

Sherlock had spent the last week doing everything he could to distract himself from her absence, searching for any type of case and doing extreme experiments in the kitchen and in Molly's lab. Any relief he found was short lived as any outcomes to the mundane cases he'd taken on had made him want to ask Rose what she had thought and see how fast she came to the same conclusion, with the experiments he found himself looking around for her to be watching him as he had caught her doing in the past. When she wasn't working, she was in their apartment conversing with John and himself, or just John while Sherlock worked. He'd feel her eyes on him in lulls of the conversation and he'd look up from whatever he was doing and stare back.

Sherlock rubbed his chest roughly, trying to dull the pain that had been building due to an unknown sickness for the past three hours. He felt like someone was sitting on his chest, choking him. It wasn't heartburn, being a smoker he was very familiar with that feeling, and of course there was no one actually choking him. Sherlock convinced himself he didn't know what was making him hurt, just that it had to be an incoming illness.

It wasn't heartache. He needed Rose to wake up and he had missed her immensely in the week she was gone, but it couldn't be heartache. That was a feeling left for goldfishes and women, not a Holmes brother. What Sherlock was feeling was only what he felt when Irene Adler faked her death, disappointment at loosing a worthy opponent and loosing the chance to figure out her puzzle. Sherlock was upset he'd loose the game if Rose didn't wake up, not because if she didn't wake up it'd mean she'd be dead.

"Ow," Sherlock mumbled, tightly closing his eyes and running his hands through his dark curls. She'd be in a coma, Rose Tyler wasn't dying -he would not let her die. He'd do anything to keep her breathing.

"Mr. Holmes?" A voice called, causing Sherlock to snap his eyes open and look at the door he'd turned away from for one second. Standing there was Rose's doctor, who was watching him cautiously and sympathetically which caused Sherlock's heart to stop. It hadn't been a hour yet, there was news that needed to be relayed and the doctor that was relaying it was hesitant to tell him.

"What happened," Sherlock demanded, pushing out of the seat and striding towards the doctor, towering over the older man with a scowl.

"Brigadier Tyler has woken up, she is heavily-"

"Where is she," Sherlock interrupted whatever spree of information the man thought he needed. Sherlock didn't need anything except the room number. If that wasn't given to him, then they could chase him threw the halls as he looked for her.

"She is heavily medicated," the doctor continued on, holding steady under Sherlock's stare. "At this point we are not sure if any of her injuries has effected her brain or body for a long period of time. Please prepare yourself that she may not recognize you or she may move to attack you."

"Where. Is. She." Sherlock took the last step between himself and the doctor and growled in the man's face.

"Room 109, but Mr. Holmes you have to understand, she has already-" Sherlock pushed past the man through the doors he had been staring at for the past two hours, forty-six minutes, and eleven seconds. He'd started picking up pace until he was flying down the halls, gaining no information from his surroundings except for the room numbers he was passing. This UNIT base was built into the ground like Baskerville had been, Sherlock had deduced that from the amount of stairs and elevators he passed while walking into the medical bay, with only two stories above ground level, the rest of the base had to be below ground, but Rose was on this level.

Finally, he saw 109 at the end of the hall and dashed for it. He reached for the doorknob, but before he could turn it he found himself being pushed away and up against the opposite wall, a UNIT soldier staring him down and demanding his title and who gave him authorization.

Sherlock, not thinking completely straight and also never having cared for such rules, followed his instincts and grabbed the soldiers hand that was on his shoulder and flipped the man around, now holding him in a headlock with his body a shield against the other soldier pointing a gun at him.

"You're going to let me into that room," Sherlock informed the two guards.

"Not without authorization," The soldier with a gun replied, not fazed to see his partner being held down.

"I have authorization, I was given it by Mycroft Holmes who was given it by your director." Sherlock sneered at the man, who simply narrowed his eyes without lowering the gun.

"Have you been informed to be cautious and prepared for her to attack."

"Sure," Sherlock replied, vaguely remembering the cut off sentences the doctor had been trying to tell him.

"Mr. Holmes, the Director is unaware of her surroundings and is hostile. You have clearance to go into the room but only are to approach the bed if the situation has been assessed as safe for civilians." The security guard said, only lowering his gun when Sherlock reluctantly nodded, holding back his comment that he was hardly a civilian.

After the soldier he'd been holding roughly pushed away from him, the two guards frisked him and finally let him into the room, unlocking it then locking it back when he had passed the threshold.

He stood in front of the closed door, taking the hospital room in with one quick glance, noting the many machines, absence of windows, as well as the signs of distress with the crumpled curtains, toppled over guest chair and tiled lamp that's body had been alighted but shade was still on the floor. There had been a fight in there, but Sherlock stored the information away as he gave his complete focus on the blonde watching him from the bed.

"Rose," Sherlock whispered her name like a prayer.

She had several wires hooked up to her arms, an IV for hydration as well as medication and a heart monitor. She was bandaged in her midsection with several stitches along her arms and face, there didn't appear to be any broken bones and whatever had happened to her midsection was fixed as far as the doctor knew. She was healthy. She was awake. She was also handcuffed to her hospital bed.

"What did they do?" Sherlock growled, taking a step forward and grasping her hand to observe the handcuff, it was standard issue and he'd have it off her in a minute.

When she didn't reply, Sherlock met Rose's eyes for the first time and paused. There was a dazed look in them that made her appear as though she was looking at the world threw a haze and wasn't completely processing what was happening. Her beautiful hazel eyes appeared far more golden brown than they usually did and as they focused on him they didn't dilate as he had come accustom to, as he knew his were at that moment.

He hadn't given any heed to the soldiers and doctor's warnings that she may not recognize him, that she may be hostile to him. She was awake and he had her hand in his, but he didn't know if his Rose was there.

"Please," Sherlock begged, tightening his grip on her hands. "Rose, please tell me you know who I am." Rose looked on, furrowing her eyebrows and staring at him intently. "Do you know who you are?"

"Rose Tyler," she answered, staring at him and beginning to frown at him and glancing at his death grip on her hand. Sherlock felt the ache in his chest growing and his heart rate increase, but he tried to smile encouragingly.

"Rose Tyler, Director of UNIT," he reminded her. Rose looked down at the handcuffs, confused for a moment.

"UNIT, not Torchwood," she whispered to herself, barely audible. She continued staring at her hands in his, and at her bandaged body.

"Rose," Sherlock whispered again, taking both of her hands to get her to look back at him with her hazed brown eyes. "Please say you know who I am, please," Sherlock gasped out.

"Sherlock?" Rose whispered hesitantly. Sherlock breathed out all the air in his lungs and kissed both her hands, breathing deeply to calm his breaking then repairing heart. Had he been a weaker man, his sigh would have been a sob.

As Sherlock smiled, the haze went away from her eyes and Sherlock saw Rose recognize him fully, her eyes dilated to match his and she offered him her breathtaking smile. "My very own Sherlock Holmes." She tried to raise her hand, but it got pulled back to the bed by her handcuffs. She glanced at them for the first time and frowned deeply. "I attacked one of the doctors."

Sherlock nodded, having gathered that already, though he squeezed her hand again because though he had seen the evidence, she was still coming to terms with it. "You were scared."

"I was confused," Rose amended, turning back to Sherlock, her golden brown eyes dazed again. "I didn't know where I was, I thought-" Rose cut herself off, pulling her arm up to place it on her chest, then hitting the side of the bed when she couldn't reach it.

"One moment," Sherlock assured her, getting to work on setting her free.

"No, Sherlock, stop," Rose asked, holding tight to his hand still in her grasp. "If I wanted them off, they'd be off. They're for everyone's protection until I'm more lucid." Sherlock shook his head and yanked his hand free, ignoring her request completely.

"Thats ridiculous, you know who I am, you know who you are, you know where you are now," Sherlock gave her a stern look when she tried to continuously move the shackles so he couldn't get a hold of them. "You're not a danger to anyone any more, you were just scared."

Rose let out a deep breath and laid back in the bed, looking up at the ceiling as Sherlock worked to free her. After a couple minutes, Sherlock chucked the cuffs to the other side of the room. He pulled over the guest chair after setting it up straight and sat directly next to Rose, holding one of her hands once she was done rubbing them.

"What happened?" Sherlock asked, sure she wouldn't reveal it to him and brush the question off with a laugh.

"We were settling a dispute between two groups, and a simple, peaceful solution was clear to everyone except those involved. Someone started yelling, then someone started fighting, and it all escalated from there. I demanded my team to stay back and let them fight it out, we weren't there to pick a side anyways, just to mediate so nothing went out of proportions." Rose shook her head and turned it to look at Sherlock with droopy eyes. "When it did, I stepped in. Got hurt. Doc fixed me up and now I'm here."

"You're okay?" Sherlock ensured, glancing over her bandaged body and scratches. Thin white lines now stood out clearer with the newer scars about to join them.

"M'fine," Rose promised. She squeezed his hands till he looked back up to meet her gaze. "Promise."

"What about the complication in surgery? What was that about?"

Rose chuckled and shrugged, "My brain disagreed when my body wanted to give up, so here I am."

Sherlock thought his heart may have stopped and he was breathing simply on reflex. "You were dying."

"Nah, well, kinda, but I didn't so," Rose shrugged in a nonchalant manner. Sherlock had to release her hand and rub his face to calm down his heart that had started back up and was now in overdrive.

"Please don't joke about that," Sherlock asked, lowering his hands so they covered his mouth but could give Rose a stern look.

"You were worried," She observed, a dopey smile spreading over her face. For a moment, Sherlock considered smiling back simply because of how endearing she appeared as she was about to fall asleep, but couldn't.

"I knew you'd wake up," he deflected the question, taking a hold of her hand and holding it tighter. "Rose Tyler couldn't go out like that."

Rose closed her eyes and smiled. "Like Lupus."

"Lupus?" Sherlock asked, racking his brain for the name. "Wolf?"

"Its my favorite star. Here, it died two hundred years ago, and went supernova despite everyone believing back home it'll die by becoming a black dwarf."

"Do you want to go home?" Sherlock asked gently, referring to the flat as well as wherever she was prior to being held prisoner.

"Only sometimes," Rose furrowed her eyebrows and opened her eyes to focus on Sherlock. "Not when I'm with you."

"And John," Sherlock blurted before he could stop himself, forever trying to build a wall between himself and her, but always trying to tear it down as well. She wouldn't have it today though.

"Mainly you," Rose whispered, the drugs in her IV giving her enough extra confidence that she didn't even blush and held his gaze for longer than Sherlock could.

"I need you to replace Mycroft with me as your person to contact in emergencies."

"Why?"

"You're not alone anymore," Sherlock answered in his regular Isn't-It-Obvious tone. "John and I are your family, not Mycroft."

His breath caught as Rose sat up in bed and beamed at him, her smile reaching her eyes and brightening them into the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. Sherlock stared into her eyes, searing their image into the back of his mind, knowing it was information he would never delete. He could have stared at them till his eyes shriveled up in his head, but before he even felt the need to blink, Rose had closed her eyes and he suddenly realized she was inches away from him and he was closing his eyes too.

It was sloppy yet beautiful, and Sherlock didn't fathom pulling away. Rose Tyler was kissing him, her hand was on his face and the other held tightly in his grasp. Sherlock placed his own hand on the back of her neck, holding her close to breathe in the scent of the travel that clung to her. Not of sweat, baggage claim and pressurized air, but of palm trees and rain forests, or salty air and desert plains, she held the essence of the world. With his eyes closed and all his other senses overloaded with Rose, Sherlock could have been anywhere in the world kissing her, but when she pulled away and he opened his eyes to meet her dazzling and dazed ones, he didn't care that he was still in a hospital room because she was still beaming at him.

"Stay with me," she whispered, her eyes closing for a second and then focusing back on him.

"Of course, " he answered in the affirmative, being granted another, shorter, kiss before Rose leaned back on the bed and closed her eyes. "Don't leave me," Sherlock whispered back, holding her hand in both of his and kissing them in prayer.


	21. Grit On The Lens

Rose woke up aching and groggy. The medication had held the nightmares at bay, but she had several dreams about a golden light she hadn't had in years as well as a realistic dream of kissing Sherlock in her hospital room and asking him to stay with her. Luckily, she knew the last had to be a dream as only Mycroft had access to her medical files and had clearance to be in UNITs medical bay. Though she wished she wasn't alone when she woke up, she was.

"Good morning, Director," a voice called from the corner of the room. Rose tipped her head to the side and tried to focus on the image of her doctor walking towards her. "Did you sleep well, Ma'am?"

"Mhmm," Rose replied, rubbing her face. "Fixed me up, doc?"

"There appears to be no side effects and your chart looks good, Director," the doctor replied. Rose waited for the but to drop. "However, there were complications in surgery I'd like to talk to you about before your team and guest come in to see you."

"Guest?" Rose asked, the doctor nodded.

"Mr. Holmes," the doctor replied, the familiar tone all UNIT personnel adopt when talking to her about the intruding Mycroft Holmes.

"Right," Rose motioned for him to continue. "What happened? Unexpected bleeding? Is there still something in me you couldn't get out?"

"No, Ma'am, nothing medical was wrong, however I think it would be best if you looked into the weaponry that was used, there is a chance your body reacted to the extra-terrestrial energy, though it doesn't appear life threatening." The doctor looked over his extensive notes while he spoke, glancing up only a few times.

"What happened?" Rose asked, dread pouring out of her.

"Well, Ma'am," the doctor hesitated. "You started glowing."

"All of me?" Rose asked, her hand flying to her chest frantically.

She'd worried about regeneration on many occasions, she had looked into the heart of the TARDIS and held all of the Time Vortex in her mind, more than any Time Lord had done, there was every possibility that when she died she may regenerate into a full Time Lady, and the idea scared her more than anything else in the world. To live forever, stranded on Earth, loving and mourning everyone she met, it'd be a hell no one deserved.

"No, Ma'am, only the part we were trying to heal. You'd gone into V-Fib and we were frantically trying to ease your heart rate when it happened. I-" The doctor cleared his throat and blushed but continued on. "I told all my nurses to step back and I did myself, unsure which extra-terrestrial being you had been in contact with. Once the light ebbed away, your heart rate was stable once again."

Rose closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, pressing into her single heartbeat for reassurance. She should have known that was what he meant, she knew she occasionally healed faster than others in dire situations or if she simply allowed Bad Wolf to take over. It hadn't happened as often lately, but that was mainly due to not being in danger as often as she was a few years ago.

"Thank you, I'll look into it," Rose lied, keeping her eyes closed. "When can I go home?"

"We'll run some tests and see how you react to your breakfast, but we're hoping this afternoon as your numbers are all where they should be."

Rose nodded and opened her eyes for a brief moment to exchange goodbyes. "You can tell Mr. Holmes he can come in but I'll wait to see my team when I have the strength to stand. Tell them I'm tired."

Rose kept her eyes open to watch the doctor nod and leave, then she sat up and brought her knees to her chest, burying her face in them. Rose counted her breaths to calm down, trying and failing to feel her connection to the TARDIS, begging her to answer the call for once. She was there, Rose knew she had to be inside her, had to feel Rose's desperation, but the TARDIS didn't sing back. All Rose wanted was to feel a connection to her last living family member, for her sister to find a way to give her comfort.

The door opened much sooner than Rose expected it to, thinking Mycroft would take time to talk with the doctor before coming to see her. Rose tried to compose herself in the second she had before she looked up to discuss the mission and its failure with Mycroft.

"Whats wrong?" Rose snapped her head up and saw Sherlock Holmes standing in the door way with a tray of food, frowning in her direction.

"Sherlock?" Rose asked, eyes wide as her realistic dream slid back into her memory file instead.

"Whats wrong? What did the doctor say?" Sherlock ignored her shock and set the tray down, taking the seat beside her bed she had asked him to stay in all night, and apparently he had, after she had kissed him.

"Um," Rose tried to gather her thoughts, completely thrown by her ridiculousness the night before. "Just telling me what happened in surgery."

"The complication?" Sherlock clarified, once again making Rose widen her eyes, but she tried to cover it up.

"Yeah, so every things good."

Rose observed Sherlock's every movement. He couldn't have any doubt now that she had strong feelings for him, she'd basically attacked him last night just because he'd called her family. He'd included John in the sentence, but it hadn't mattered to her drug addled brain, he said he was her family and that was all she needed. He'd stayed through the night so that had to be something, and she was fairly positive he hadn't been pushing her away, but she didn't know what he was thinking now.

"Good," Sherlock said. He wasn't looking directly at her, but assessing her injuries and fixing the breakfast on the tray so he could take a plate off and she could have the tray. "Here," Sherlock gave her the tray.

"Thanks." Rose took it with shaking hands, which he noticed.

"Do you need more pain killers? Or less?" He asked, glancing from her hands to the drip next to her.

"I'm fine, though I'll probably ask them to lower it because I can't think straight with them."

"Really?" Sherlock asked, barely touching his food like usual and giving her his full focus. "I've found they help me focus."

Rose frowned and shook her head. "No, they don't," Rose shot that idea down. "You're thoughts aren't organized unless you're in your mind loci, yeah?" Sherlock hesitantly nodded, appearing reluctant to discuss his addictive habits, but also acknowledging she may know what she was talking about. This Sherlock hadn't told her he was an addict outright, but Doyle's had been such a large one she found it hard to believe Sherlock didn't use them in this universe. "So when you're under the influence you think your thoughts are organized, but in actuality they've just been dulled down. You're making yourself dumb, but you're use to being smart so you think you're still smart but able to control your thought easier."

Sherlock was quiet for a moment, Rose didn't feel like her explanation had made much sense but he was obviously contemplating it. "So you can tell your thoughts are slowed right now?"

"Yeah."

"Whats it like when you're sober?"

Rose shrugged. "I don't know, whats it like for you?"

"A racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built," Sherlock answered. Rose started at the famous line Doyle had written, pondering what that life must be like, to have the brain capable of fathoming things Time Lords could, but not having the room.

"You just need to learn to filter it and focus your attention on one thing at a time no matter how mentally challenging it is. Sometimes when I'm bored I read cheesy romance novels even though they're horribly written and predictable."

Sherlock nodded, setting his full plate aside and leaning back in the chair. He was silent as Rose finished her meal, alternating between watching her eat and zoning out for a moment. For her part, Rose didn't offer up another topic, not feeling up to having an in depth conversation with Sherlock or really facing him at all. Once she was finished, she set his plate back on top of the tray and put it all on the side table.

"What did the doctor say when you woke up?" Sherlock asked out of the blue, Rose picked up a hint of hesitancy in his tone that surprised her.

"I already told you, he told me about how the surgery went." Rose tapped her fingers against the bed to the beat of a double heartbeat.

"Then why were you upset when I walked in?" Sherlock countered, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"Because I just got out of surgery, Sherlock." Rose tried to adopt the tone she'd heard John have when scolding Sherlock for not thinking like other human beings. Sherlock was unmoved however.

"It was a successful surgery, there would be no reason to appear lost and conflicted after hearing such news, thus the complication during the surgery had to have been more than you let on," Sherlock deduced, staring Rose down to intimidate her into revealing the secret of her distress.

"Its classified, Sherlock," Rose sighed, running a hand down her face. "And very, very complicated. It just shocked me because it brought up some difficult memories from the past that I like to leave untouched," Rose tried to explain in truthfully, vague terms.

To her surprise, she watched Sherlock's jaw lock and fists clench. She didn't understand his reaction, until he glanced over her scars, not the ones from her latest mission mishap, but from another time, another universe. She gasped in surprise of him taking notice of them after she was sure they had escaped even his notice, the blush she'd been holding back for an entirely different reason rushed a cross her skin. Though the room felt like it had suddenly gotten stuffy, Rose pulled the blankets further up, biting her lip.

Sherlock blew air out of his nose roughly and stood up, pacing the room for two laps, before whirling back to Rose and laying his hands on the rail at the end of her bed. "Its classified and somehow connected to your past, but you're okay? You're healthy and not going to die anytime soon?" Sherlock asked, needing to be reassured despite having been told she was healthy before.

"Sherlock," Rose said gently, reaching forward and grasping on of his hands gripping the rail. "I'm okay, I promise to tell you if I'm not." Sherlock flipped his hand around and held onto her hand tightly for a moment, before letting go and returning to his seat.

Rose had to shake her head and close her eyes for a second, both far more and less confused than she had been. Sherlock cared, this wasn't him acting to get information, he needed to know she was okay, even if he didn't know all of the information that made it so she was okay. That was enough to make her heart race with hope. But that voice in her head, the voice of Mickey the Idiot, kept reminding her to be careful, that he would be this same way with John and Mrs. Hudson. She was a member of his very small, exclusive family which meant her wellbeing was important to him, but that didn't mean any romantic feelings she had for him, no matter how strong they were growing, were reciprocated. Had she been truly brave she would have brought it up, but Rose Tyler was completely okay with being a coward at the moment.

"Ba da da dum," Sherlock interrupted her thoughts, looking at her tapping fingers. "The sound of a double heartbeat."

"What?" Rose started, pausing her drumming to clinch the sheets.

"Thats what you said the night you and John went drinking," Sherlock reminded her, staring at her clenched fists. Rose knew he was observing her actions and reactions, but she couldn't help it for once. She was vulnerable with the drugs in her system and felt like she was an open book to Sherlock, which only made her embarrassed situation that much worse.

"Yeah," Rose absentmindedly nodded. It was a nervous habit she'd picked up after John told her the story of the Master running for Prime Minister. Though he had used the beat for nefarious means, she found it soothed her or brought her mind off things she'd rather not think about.

"Odd habit."

Rose watched him watch her, trying to focus on the emotions in the air, being in a hospital made it harder for her to focus on one person since everyones emotions were overflowing. She could sense a simmering amount of anger fading out of him that was being replaced with more worry and confusion. She almost scoffed at his confusion, it was his ever present emotion around her despite his high and mighty attitude. He was only confused by her past like usual, he didn't have the type of confusion floating around her.

"I guess," Rose shrugged. "Better than shooting the wall." Sherlock pursed his lips but nodded in consent.

"Where did you pick it up from? A research project in UNIT?"

Rose shook her head and smiled in spite of the serious countenance Sherlock wore. "No, they're not advance enough to accomplish that yet."

Sherlock frowned some more, no doubt trying to understand what that meant for UNIT and for her. "Two heart beats," Sherlock mused allowed. "Did you witness a piggyback heart transplant?"

Rose raised her eyebrows, impressed with his knowledge with heart transplant and wondering what case had led to him learning that information. "No, I didn't." Sherlock stared at her in concentration, and Rose couldn't help herself but to sit up, lean just a bit closer and stare back with a funny face. Sherlock rolled his eyes and stood from the seat while Rose laughed. "You're too serious, Sherlock, it doesn't matter where I heard a double heartbeat." Rose tried to nonchalantly steer him off course.

"You always answer my questions if you're allowed, but you're not saying this is classified so why won't you answer the question?" Sherlock shot at her. Rose could feel that he was hurt and gave him a small smile.

"Whats the questions again?" She teased, he gave her a look which only made her laugh again as she grabbed a hold of his arm as he passed close enough and tugged him down till he sat on the bed. "I picked it up from a story my friend told me a long time ago, thats all."

"I've never heard of a story like that," he said, a hint of complaint in his tone.

"Well, that can happen, Sherlock," Rose teased him, squeezing his hand playfully before releasing it and leaning back. "Anyway, my friend told the story and every time he brought up the double heart he tapped it out."

Rose tapped on Sherlock's arm, grinning at the memory as well as thinking of actually hearing the sound of his second heart when the Doctor would hug her. John, of course, had one heart, that was the deal. She got the Doctor with one heart who could grow old with her while the Doctor she loved and would out live her by thousands of years, would travel the universe ensuring he was never alone.

"Was this friend John?" Sherlock guessed.

"No, any stories John has told me, I'm sure he has told you." Rose frowned at Sherlock when he took her hand hesitantly and began observing her closer.

"No, the other John, the one that isn't here anymore."

Rose froze her tapping and breathing, her mind zeroing in on both images her tortuous mind always brought up when she pictured John Noble. Her beautiful, grinning, pinstripe John Noble laying in their bed smiling up at her and her mental image from the last time she saw him. She'd not talked about John Noble to Sherlock and after explaining her relationship with the Doctor to John Watson she hadn't explained further. Despite years having past, it was all too fresh to discuss and Sherlock bringing it up caught her off guard so much she felt she might be sick.

"Oh," was all Rose could manage to get out. She unconscious began to slowly pull her hand away to wrap her arms around herself, but Sherlock held tightly to her hand.

"You called out for him when you were drunk as well," Sherlock explained how he knew the name. Rose could feel guilt rising in the room but couldn't focus past her emotions.

"Yeah, his name was John Noble," Rose croaked out, staring over Sherlock's shoulder at the open door, sagging in relief a minute later when John Watson hurried threw and ran to her side.

"Oh my god, Rose! I just heard you're awake!" John gushed, hugging her tightly before pulling back and giving her a once over. "You're okay? Ready to be discharged soon?"

Rose smiled weekly at John Watson, the man who'd become akin to a brother to her, and gripped his arms tighter for support, wishing she could sit him down, sit Sherlock down as well, and tell them her story. The immense want to share her story, something she had never felt in Sherlock's Universe before, made the tightness in her chest increase.

"Whats wrong?" John asked, looking to Sherlock who still held tightly to her hand and she could feel staring into the side of her face.

"I was asking about John Noble," Sherlock admitted. Rose closed her eyes tightly at the name, grateful when John wrapped her back up in a hug.

"Oh, Rose."

"I'm fine," She whispered, begging it to be true and tightly squeezing Sherlock's hand. "Could one of you go ask the- the uh, doctor to come in and take me off these drugs, please?"

"Sherlock?" John asked, his arms still tightly wound around Rose, but Sherlock continued to grip Rose's hand.

"Actually, I need to get dressed, you can both go," Rose pulled out of both men's hold and moved to get out of bed. Sherlock was at her side immediately, helping her maneuver through the ropes attached to her. "I've got it." Sherlock nodded, but still hovered till she went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Rose leaned heavily against the door, clutching the bundle of clothes in her arm to her chest, staring at the portable IV stand hanging in front of her. The boys hadn't moved out of the room yet, Sherlock still stood just outside the door, no doubt listening for her as she was for him and John remained where he was. She desperately needed them to leave the room, give her minutes to herself that she was close to begging for. With Sherlock around her, she couldn't even properly reflect on her mission and injuries, and now John was there fretting about things that didn't need to be dug up at the moment.

"Did she tell you about him?" John whispered on the other side of the door. Sherlock didn't move but Rose heard John walking towards the door as quietly as he could.

"No, I asked about the John she called out for when she was drunk before, and she provided the last name. Nothing else," Sherlock answered at normal volume, both aware she was listening to him. Finally, she heard him walk away from the door so she slid down it and laid on the floor, letting a few tears escape as she worked to control her thoughts and emotions.

"Who is he?"

"Another loved one thats passed away," was John's reply, sending another stream of tears down her cheeks and a deep sigh to escape her quiet lips.

"John," Sherlock snapped, both of their steps indicating they were leaving her hospital room. "Don't say that when Rose can hear you," Sherlock chided, the rest of his words fading out as the entered the hallway.

"Thank you," Rose whispered to the bathroom, closing her eyes against the florescent lights and trying and failing to enter her mind TARDIS. She just wanted to go home.

Rose hurried to get dressed, being mindful of all the wires attached to her, then exited the bathroom. She was determined to ignore her crazy feelings toward Sherlock at the moment and focus on actual issues, such as determining how much the doctor understood about what happened in the operating room, what the outcome of her mission had been, and how she was going to deal with Bad Wolf healing her every time she was in danger.

First, she rang for the doctor. He entered with Sherlock and John, but when she asked the boys to leave they didn't complain, though they both threw her a worried glance she ignored.

"I'd just like to go over what happened in the operating room once again, and what you believe was the cause?" Rose asked, trying not to sound too much like his boss as not to scare him from telling the truth.

"Of course, ma'am." the doctor nodded. "You lost a lot of blood and your heart went into V-Fib. I was in the process of trying to slow the bleeding, when the injury to your abdomen started to warm up in my hands. Immediately, I asked my scrub nurses to retreat, but kept going until you- um, started glowing." The doctor scrunched his face, despite knowing she was the director of an organization that dealt with aliens, his hesitancy to talk about her glowing was heavy in the air.

"Exactly what part of me was glowing? And what color was it?" Rose inquired.

"Golden, ma'am, and it was only you're heart and injuries."

"How long did it last?"

"Nearly a minute, ma'am, but afterwards, your heart rate returned to normal and though you were still bleeding it had slowed immensely." The doctor handed her his notes on it. She didn't look at the medical sides, but focused on the alien artifacts he listed on the sides in speculation. None of his notes pointed to any thoughts thinking she may be of extra-terrestrial origin, so she handed them back.

"Who knows?" Rose asked, adapting her Brigadier tone.

"Myself and anyone in the room, ma'am, I've told all who've asked of your complication that I was waiting to discuss it with you first."

"Good job," Rose nodded, earning a smile. "I want no one to know that doesn't have to. None of my charts are to be stored where others have access and I'd like to speak with all of the doctors in the room with you when it happened after I've been discharged. Which will be within the next few hours if you'd be so kind." Rose hinted at the order and the doctor hesitated, but nodded after a glance at her monitor. "I'd also like to be taken off of this drip."

"Of course, ma'am."

"Wonderful, thats all, thank you," Rose dismissed him, leaning back on her bed and waiting for the boys to enter as the doctor exited.

"What'd he say?" John asked, taking a seat at the end of the bed while Sherlock took his seat.

"I'm getting off this drip and headed home within the day," Rose answered with a grin. "Did ya bring a car? We'll never catch a cab around here," Rose joked, poking him with her foot. She turned briefly to Sherlock to see him staring intently at her so she turned back to John. "You don't happen to know how my mission went do ya? I don't want to see my team without being prepared."

"Mycroft said it was a success," Sherlock supplied immediately, causing her to turn back to him. "A solution was apparently put in place after they hurt you," Sherlock practically growled the last part.

"Fantastic," Rose exclaimed with a grin.

"That they almost killed you?" Sherlock snapped, scowling deeply.

Rose shrugged off his anger, "It was a small misunderstanding and I'm fine."

"You were in surgery," Sherlock countered angrily, making Rose's ire rise as well while John was flitting his head between the two of them again.

"Outpatient surgery apparently, so it's no problem."

"There was a complication in that surgery too." John stood up while they argued, excusing himself but they paid him no heed.

"So what? I'm alive and the people I was trying to help didn't mean to hurt me."

"But they did! They should be arrested."

"You don't even know the circumstances!"

"I know you were hurt."

"So? Who cares if I got hurt?"

"I do!" Sherlock snapped angrily, leaning out of his chair slightly and hovering over her. "I do."

Rose stared back, a slight frown marring her face and eyes scrunched at him. She'd felt anger and irritation in the air building, but instead of building into a larger fight, it'd all evaporated to reveal the emotions Sherlock had been expertly pushing down so that neither of them knew he felt them. Rose gasped as a tidal wave of despair, fear, and desperation encompassed her. He couldn't be feeling all of this about her being injured, it wasn't what Sherlock Holmes did, it wasn't how people reacted to her.

"You were in a coma, Rose." Sherlock wouldn't release her gaze and his piercing grey eyes begged her to understand the words he was leaving unsaid. "They kept telling me you might not wake up and that was it. I had no idea who I would have to hunt down if you died. I didn't know what to do."

"Sherlock..." Rose whispered nervously.

"I'm not like this, Rose. I was taught, and believe, that emotions are a person's greatest fault, they're to be exploited not encouraged and Holmes are not suppose to possess them. I hate my emotions, Rose, I push them down and scorn myself when they find they're way back up. I don't have feelings and I don't have friends outside of John. I don't want anymore friends, he's already too much to deal with most of the time and I'm always pushing him away and making him mad. Its too much work to have a friendship, I can live with just John." Sherlock took a breath, both of them staring at each other though Rose was frowning much more.

"I get it, Sherlock," Rose whispered, wrenching her eyes away. "They're the grit on the lens."

"Yeah, but- Rose," Sherlock grabbed her hand and tugged till she looked at him. "I don't want anymore friends and I don't have feelings, except when I'm with you. You make me sane, Rose, like I may not need cases and drugs to keep going. I don't care that you have secrets, I don't even care if I never figure them out," Sherlock paused and held tighter to her hand, pulling himself up and sitting next to her on the bed. "Just stay with me."

Rose stared at Sherlock, long enough that some hesitation started building on his side of the room, but he held her gaze and hand until she spoke. "Okay," she whispered, a small smile hesitantly forming on both their lips.

"Okay?" Sherlock asked, his smile dipping a minute. "I'm not normal though, Rose. I still am not thrilled about this emotions concept and my habit will be to push them down and try to push you away. John calls me temperamental, but I only get bored easily and when I'm bored I'm sporadic. I probably won't be buying roses everyday or complimenting you when its unnecessary or-"

Rose lifted her free hand and covered his mouth with it, laughter sparkling up her eyes as her heart swelled with happiness. "You're messed up, I get it. You're not normal, I get it. Me too, remember?" Sherlock grinned behind her hand, staring at her like she just offered up the universe for him. Rose uncovered his mouth and leaned back, grinning back at him. "So you're not mad I kissed you?" Sherlock chuckled and brought her hand to his lips.


	22. A Little Murder Never Killed Nobody

No one knew what to expect when they entered 221 B Baker St. anymore. Before a blonde moved into 221 C Baker St. everything was simple and predictable, a client would be led up the stairs by the landlord to deal with a presumptuous, annoyingly correct detective and his slightly more empathetic assistant. Now, clients walking up the steps to 221 B had to prepare themselves to be deducted by not one genius, but occasionally a second genius with a bigger heart than both men who made everyone in her presence both comfortable and intrigued. Word had gotten around that Sherlock Holmes had acquired another assistant, but the term was applied lightly as many accounts told of the woman figuring out the easy, no need to leave the flat, cases just as quickly as the man himself.

It was a source of only minor chatter among those who'd had experience with the man, but it was enough the John noticed an increase in views on his blog, accompanied with an increase in questions about Sherlock's sexuality popping up in his inbox. John deleted all of them, hoping to keep Sherlock and Rose's relationship going steady without all of London falling on top of them.

Sherlock and Rose's relationship.

John shook his head as he closed his laptop and leaned back in the desk chair to glance into the kitchen to watch the two perform an experiment. Despite having complained to her about Sherlock's sporadic tendencies when he was bored, and her laughing with him, Rose was just as dangerous when she was bored. Apparently, there was a lull in missions going on in UNIT which didn't bode well with its director who was slightly superstitious about what comes after lulls in cases. To take her mind off of the impending, but not yet known, major case, Rose joined Sherlock on transforming the kitchen into a laboratory. With two of them, John was out numbered and had to deal with some of the experiments spilling into the living room as well.

Though they were both being sporadic at the moment, John still noticed that Sherlock's normal tendencies to shoot the wall, stab the mantle, or yell had eased with Rose's presence. All of his flat mate's eccentric tendencies eased when he was around Rose Tyler, so John invited Rose upstairs as often as possible.

"Sherlock, thats suppose to be on simmer not boil," Rose instructed, pointing to a flask filled with boiling green liquid.

"A boil will produce clearer results," Sherlock disagreed, continuing to measure out another liquid, John watched Rose turn around and lean against the counter with her arms crossed.

"It's not going to show any results if its on a boil." Sherlock scoffed and shook his head but didn't reply. "Sherlock," Rose snapped.

Sherlock rolled his eyes and turned back to Rose. "A boil is preferable over a simmer, it will get rid of any substances that would effect the final results, therefore giving us a more exact result."

Rose raised a single eyebrow, glanced towards the boiling substance, than exited the kitchen to collapse in Sherlock's chair. John glanced back and forth between the two geniuses, Sherlock turning away from Rose's piercing stare when his ringtone broke the silence.

"Sherlock Holmes," Sherlock answered, his eyes flicked between Rose and John, "of course." He snapped the phone shut and grabbed his coat, "Lestrade has a case." John grinned and stood up, grabbing his coat off the coat rack as Sherlock leaned over him and grabbed Rose's as well, "coming?"

Rose's grin quickly turned into a smirk when the flask that had been boiling exploded in the kitchen. Sherlock jumped a bit, looking into the kitchen with a deep scowl as he took in the broken glass and the chemical splattered on the cabinets. ""course, someone's gotta solve it." Rose caught her jacket when Sherlock tossed it to her, then snatched his hand and hurried down the stairs, Sherlock following her with a grin even though he'd been proven wrong.

Sherlock told Rose and John the small amount of information Lestrade gave him, which was only that there was an apparent suicide in Canary Wharf, but Lestrade believed it may have been murder and need Sherlock's opinion. John nodded at the information, but turned around from his place in the front seat when Rose asked. "Did you say Canary Wharf?" It was the hesitancy he picked up in her tone that made him turn around.

Sherlock frowned and replied that, that was what he said, then glanced a John. He'd shared the insight Mycroft had given him into what little he knew about Rose's past. They'd both started being more aware about what brought out her PTSD and what made her close up, apparently Canary Wharf had something to do with why she was held and tortured for months. Rose nodded and looked out the window, holding tightly to Sherlock's hand the rest of the drive.

When they arrived, Sherlock and Rose got out first while John paid the cabbie. John heard the tail-end of their whispered conversation as he got out of the car. "You don't have to tell me, but you also don't have to stay here."

"Sherlock," Rose snapped, giving him a dirty look. "I'm fine, leave it alone." When Rose looked over Sherlock's shoulder and saw John watching them, she gave Sherlock one last dirty stare, then walked around him and took John's arm, dragging them towards the police tape blocking off an entrance.

"Fine?" John asked hesitantly.

"The two of you are worse than mother hens," Rose huffed, which made John chuckle. Rose tried to scowl at him, but ended up chuckling with him. Sherlock glanced back at them, and though John saw he was still worried and upset about Rose, just her looking happier made some of his frown lines ease.

Several of London's finest were surrounding the building, monitoring who was leaving and entering, and no one said anything as Sherlock approached the tape, except the only one who ever does.

"Whose this, freak?" Sgt Donovan asked Sherlock when she stopped John and Rose before they could pass the tape. Rose let go of John's arm and crossed hers, looking Sally up and down and narrowing her eyes.

"Rose Tyler, our neighbor," Sherlock answered, glancing at Rose and briefly smiling, they both knew Rose had just observed Sgt Sally Donovan and decided she didn't like her.

"A neighbor?" Donovan looked Rose up and down as well, not taking in the details she should have.

"I believe Lestrade is waiting on me, Sgt." Sherlock stared Donovan down until she let him pass, but she stopped Rose with a touch of her hand. John expected Sherlock to continue on, not even noticing they stopped as he was leading, but when he noticed their footsteps stop, he did as well and watched Donovan speak to Rose with an almost weary expression.

"Look, John's a good guy, but he shouldn't have brought you here or introduced you to Sherlock, this isn't a place for civilians and he isn't a good guy," Donovan explained to Rose, who rose an eyebrow and frowned.

"Oh, so tell me, Sgt. Donovan, what makes Sherlock a bad guy? From what I can see he's doing your job for you," Rose remarked.

"He gets off on it," Donovan replied heatedly, taking note of the obvious insult Rose gave her. "He gets off the weirder the crime is, people like that- he'll be the one we're looking for one day because solving the crimes won't be enough one day." Donovan smiled as they all watched Rose frown, and glance to Sherlock. Sherlock stared back at her, impassive and stony, having heard it before and only worried what Rose's reply would be. John could read his friend's hesitancy and worry, though Sherlock didn't need to worry, this was Rose after all.

Rose looked away from Sherlock and took a step closer to Donovan. "So then, why are you here, Sally?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, this is your job as well, yeah? So you have to enjoy the solving as well, the protecting people, and the saving lives, y'know, all the things Sherlock is doing for you?" Rose snapped, taking a last step closer to Donovan, and even though the sergeant was taller, Rose still towered over the woman. "I believe, that would make you a freak as well." Rose pushed past Sally roughly and walked next to Sherlock, taking his hand and glowering at everyone who looked their way.

"That was brilliant." John grinned at Rose who grinned back, glancing up to Sherlock, then past Sherlock up to the building they were entering, seeing something the rest of them couldn't.

"Rose?"

The three of them looked to the entrance to see DI Lestrade standing there waiting for them to come in. Rose grinned and bounced away from them, wrapping her arms around Lestrade when she reached him with a laugh.

"Hello, Greg," Rose greeted, pulling out of the hug as Sherlock and John joined them. John noticed Sherlock snatch Rose's hand back and had to cover his chuckle with a cough, when he looked to her, he saw Rose's eyes sparkling with mirth and happiness as she looked up at Sherlock.

"Hullo, Rose, I didn't expect to see you here," Greg glanced at their hands and slapped Sherlock on the shoulder but didn't comment past that as they could all see Sherlock was growing uncomfortable and impatient. "The body is on the second floor, a Mr. Rhys Williams, killed by a stab wound last night after everyone had left. He is an employee here and stayed late under the pretense that he had work to do, then he was stabbed."

"And you don't think it was suicide?" Rose inquired, "have you looked at the tapes?"

"No one was here, but Mr. Williams was talking to somebody, he was obscured from the cameras but his voice his clear," Greg explained, walking with them up the steps.

When they reached the second floor, the three of them began looking around at the obvious clues, Rose and Sherlock no doubt seeing more clues than John was. The most obvious was the body in the middle of the room, more specifically the nearly five liters of blood surrounding it with a knife sticking out of the stomach. There were several bloody foot prints around the floor, all going in different directions and then one set leading to where Mr. Williams collapsed and died. At the desk, there were two glasses of water marked as evidence, one with lipstick on it.

John stepped forward to observe the body, Rose stood in the doorway watching John work and Sherlock flit around the room deducting. After three minutes, Sherlock stood up with a satisfied smile and looked to John.

"Well?" Sherlock asked, gesturing around the room. "What do you think, John?"

John hated when he did this. Hated it more than anything else Sherlock did, and yet he always consented out of hopes he truly was getting better like Sherlock was saying. So, John looked around the room and tried his best to see what others couldn't see what only Sherlock Holmes could.

"Obviously he was killed by the knife, it's point of entry was through the stomach and a direct hit, which would suggest stabbing himself or someone stabbing him in a surprise attack. All the footprints make it hard to determine who else may have been in the room with him, but none lead to any exits so perhaps the murderer left his shoes, or took them off?" John hesitated as he ended his deductions, looking to Sherlock who was nodding his head and tapping his fingers.

"Well, you're not wrong, he did die from the knife," Sherlock assented, his eyes dancing with mirth at John having not found what he did. From the doorway, Sgt. Donovan, who had joined them minutes ago, scoffed at Sherlock's joy. "Rose?" Sherlock prompted, ignoring Donovan who was smirking at Rose. "Have you figured it out?"

Donovan stopped in the middle of rolling her eyes when Rose said, "I have, a couple seconds before you did too." Sherlock grinned at her and motioned for her to explain.

"It was suicide, albeit accidental, but still suicide. Both drinks were drunk by Mr. Williams, and even though the red liquid would suggest its wine, test it and you'll find traces of phencyclidine, a strong hallucinogens drug that can cause the user to feel detached from his body, in this case, Mr. Williams took a higher dosage than he was use to, forgot his body was his own, possibly was seeing things that frightened him, and then stabbed himself. Since he couldn't tell his body was his, he also didn't feel the stab wound until he was dying from blood loss, thus all of his footprints around the office." Rose finished with her tongue-in-tooth grin, which only grew wider when Sherlock frowned a little and nodded she was right.

"What?" Donovan blurted from the doorway, Greg turned from his position next to Rose and noticed his colleague for the first time.

"Donovan, have you met Rose?" Greg motioned to Rose, walking forward to make the introduction. "Rose, Sergeant Sally Donovan. Donovan, this is Brigadier Rose Tyler, Director of UNIT and an old friend of mine."

"Brigadier?" Donovan asked with a frown, behind Rose, Sherlock walked towards them with a small, satisfied smile.

"She's up for a promotion too," Sherlock supplied, taking Rose's hand and leading pulling her past Donovan. "Coming, John?" John chuckled and followed them out, hoping he would remember Donovan's face for a while.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose happily followed Sherlock out of Canary Wharf, only glancing up to the sky once before Sherlock pulled her attention away from her unknown, painful memories and back to Earth. She'd been brilliant solving the case with him, racing him to solve it first without either of them saying aloud that was what they'd be doing, but it hadn't been her solving the case before him that had him grinning like a mad man in the cab with her on his arm.

She'd stood up for him. Listened to a woman tell truths about his faults and his oddities, and she'd stood up for him, and then ensured Donovan knew she didn't care about his oddities. For some reason, Sherlock had a woman on his arm who was like him but better, who was a genius and had feelings but cared fiercely for the people she called family and was not afraid of letting the world know despite the high possibility that it would be used against her.

In the weeks since Rose had been discharged from the hospital, Sherlock had moved slowly with their relationship because he didn't know how else to do it and sometimes thought it was too fast for her. This was all new to him, she was showing him how to be in a relationship and he was doing his best to keep up with her who seemed a professional at it. They'd kissed a couple of time, held hands all the time, and Sherlock sought her company constantly, so Sherlock believed he was doing fairly well. But when they exited the cab and John headed to work, Rose turned to him with a frown.

"Your neighbor?" She inquired.

"Would you like to meet them? They move in and out quite often so John has given up, however if you-"

"No, Sherlock," Rose interrupted, unlocking their door and heading down to her flat. "You introduced me as your neighbor."

"You are my neighbor," Sherlock stated, unsure what he was missing when Rose sighed and fell on the couch.

"Sherlock, I made out with you last night for nearly a hour, I'm a bit more than your neighbor, I thought." Sherlock felt his blood rush to the back of his neck as it always did when she spoke blatantly about them kissing, which only made him more frustrated.

"Of course, you're not merely my neighbor," Sherlock dismissed the thought, closing the door and standing by the kitchen entrance.

"Yeah, then what am I?" Rose countered, leaning forward on her thighs.

Sherlock frowned like he just swallowed something sour and turned into the kitchen, behind him Rose growled and stood up after him. "I'm not touchy, Rose."

"I'm not asking you to be," she exclaimed, grabbing his arm to make him turn around and face her. "But I'm also not going to let you play this off. You said you were in, so be in. This isn't a relationship only for our's and John's eyes, so tell me. What am I to you?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes, but took her hand and looked her in her eyes. "You're not my neighbor, you're not my friend or colleague, you're my girlfriend, even if that is a horrible title."

Rose smiled, a becoming blush growing on her cheeks as she raised up on her tiptoes and kissed him for a moment. "How does boyfriend sound for you?" Sherlock couldn't help but agree, he had to kiss her too as he felt a fuzziness in his stomach build up at hearing the title.


	23. Rose Tyler

Sherlock sat on the couch reading, John was in the kitchen making lunch and Rose leaned against him reading too. He'd had a few successful cases the past week, one of which Rose accompanied him again, but he was content for the moment to sit with her quietly with only the hopping of his leg to indicate he was off a case.

Rose hummed as she read, smiling happily and sneaking glances up at Sherlock that were always caught by him. She basked in the peaceful emotions floating in the apartment, the utter happiness rating off herself, John's comfort levels higher than ever, and Sherlock's- well at times, Rose was sure he was just as happy as herself, but if he paused from his reading long enough, she felt his worry take over his happiness. Though she hadn't brought up her empathetic capabilities to him, he still commented that she read him too well because every time he began to doubt himself and the idea of them being together, she knew and told him to stop it.

She hadn't told Sherlock a lot of things, and he had stopped asking as often who she was. It wasn't that he'd lost interest in her past, just the opposite really, he'd gained much more interest in her present that he wasn't solely fixed on the past anymore. Still, Rose found herself stumbling through conversations on occasions, catching a slip before it escaped, because she truly did want to tell Sherlock. At least she thought she did. At times, he seemed to know enough that she could live with him forever and never fill in the blanks. Yet, on the dark days, when Sherlock tried to comfort her from the memories leaking out by distracting her or just being with her, she silently begged for him to just know what was wrong so she wouldn't have to relive it.

Sherlock's phone buzzed on the table across from them, Rose made no indication that she would move for him, so Sherlock reached over her to grab it, encasing her in his arms for a moment. Rose lightly kissed his hand as it passed close by, which Sherlock returned with a squeeze of the hand he'd been holding. Rose smiled to herself, completely fine with Sherlock's distaste for public displays of affection because she didn't need a kiss in return to understand that when she kissed his hand, his happiness spiked.

Rose paused from her book to lean further into Sherlock's chest, taking a deep breath in preparation of a sigh, but then letting it go roughly when Sherlock's emotions changed so drastically she whipped around, "what is it," Rose demanded, gripping his hand tightly.

Sherlock stared unblinkingly at his phone, his face going ashy and breathing stopping. Rose reached for his phone, but Sherlock tore away from her and stood up, leaving Rose alone on the couch as he strode towards the kitchen.

"John," Sherlock called. In the kitchen, Rose felt John's peaceful feelings shift to worry and then anger as well, as Sherlock shared what he wouldn't show her. Silence filled the air as John and Sherlock had a unspoken conversation in the kitchen, which only made Rose's ire and worry rise higher.

Rose stood from the couch and marched to the kitchen, standing in the doorway in preparation to yell at them both, but the words got stuck in her throat. Sherlock and John stared at her with an amount of fear she hadn't felt from them since she'd been in the hospital, both men's eyes were wide and frowns set deep, Sherlock clutching his phone so tightly she thought it may break.

"What?" Rose demanded again, staring Sherlock down.

Sherlock held his phone up, not breaking eye contact with Rose till she looked away to read the screen.

" _Are you cheating on me? I don't like sharing. -M_ " above the text was an image of Sherlock and Rose exiting a restaurant hand in hand.

"M?" Rose asked, taking the phone from Sherlock's outstretched hand and stepping closer to him.

"Moriarty," Sherlock answered. "It's a threat, he's going to try to use you against me, to hurt you."

Rose held in her smile the best she could, taking Sherlock's hand and reassuringly saying, "I'd like to see him try." Sherlock yanked away from her and stormed into the living room. Rose looked to John in confusion but he was still looking at her like he'd been told she had cancer and was dying. "He's just a man, I'm not afraid of him."

"Well you're an idiot not to," Sherlock snapped in the other room. Rose whipped around with an escaped growl.

"What did you just call me."

"Anyone that underestimates James Moriarty is an idiot," Sherlock repeated. "This is meant to be a warning, a heads up, but his plan will already be in motion."

"He's not exaggerating, Rose." John walked into the room and leaned against the desk. Sherlock continued to pace, keeping Rose in his line of sight. "He has more connections than anyone in the world, Mycroft can't protect you from him."

"Mycroft doesn't protect me from anyone, because I don't need protection from man. I'm Rose Tyler!" Rose snapped heatedly.

"He's not just a man, Rose, he's a thousand and none at the same time," John tried to explain to Rose, but she didn't need an explanation. She knew Moriarty, had read the file on him and read the novels on him, and he was only human, but they didn't understand that.

"So what, you expect me to cower in the apartment until the two of you have solved this problem?" Rose asked sarcastically, except John and Sherlock exchanged glances. "Sherlock!" Rose protested.

"Stay in the apartment, Rose," Sherlock ordered, heading for the door, but Rose sidestepped and pushed him back.

"No, you're going to stay here and we're going to discuss this like adults."

"You're staying inside, thats the discussion." Sherlock reached past her for the door, but Rose pushed him back once more, using more of her strength, and then stood her ground in front of the door.

"I'm Brigadier Tyler, Director of UNIT, I have jobs to do and missions to lead, I will not be confined to an apartment because my stupid boyfriend is scared of one guy!" Rose yelled at him, feeling Sherlock's anger taking over his worry.

"I'm not going to let my stupid girlfriend die because she wants to prove to the world she isn't a shop girl anymore," Sherlock countered. They stared each other down for a moment, Rose using all her power to keep her anger in check as Bad Wolf crept closer to the surface.

"Maybe we should talk about this," John broke their glaring contest, becoming the new object of their glares.

"There is nothing to talk about, Rose stays inside Bakers St."

Rose growled again, whirling around and throwing the door open herself, pounding down the steps and into the night while Sherlock and John yelled after her, Sherlock running after her. Rose hailed a cab just as Sherlock exited the apartment as well, she hoped inside as he called after her, glaring him down and giving the instructions to the driver after the door shut.

"Stay inside," Rose muttered angrily under her breath, shaking her head and sighing.

The cab dropped her off at the shoe factory, asking if she was alright to be left here since at night, their cover story made going in and out look rather sketchy. She assured him she was fine, and headed inside in a daze. No one stopped her or asked if she needed anything as she approached, she was able to make it to her office located here without any conversation, which was good, she needed to focus.

Once situated behind her desk, with the door locked and blinds drawn, Rose focused. She breathed in and out.

Rose opened her eyes, standing up from the floor and grasping the console railing as though she was embracing it. She hadn't needed her Mind TARDIS in weeks, possibly months now, and she felt the TARDIS's presence stronger than before. They'd missed each other.

"You're considering it," Nine stated, walking out from behind the rotor and looking her over.

"Yeah." Rose nodded, tapping the bar. "What do you think?"

"I think he's worse than Mickey the Idiot," Nine stated, walking around. Rose didn't follow him, instead watched the rotor move up and down.

"Jealous?" The Doctor scoffed and shook his head.

"Talk to pretty boy if you want emotions, Rose Tyler, you know this."

"I'm not going to talk to him, I want to talk to you," Rose ordered the Doctor, making him stop his pacing and face her. "Tell me what I should do."

"Tell yourself," Nine countered, crossing his arms and staring her down. "You're sister wants you to, if you hadn't picked that up." The rotor moved louder.

"I'm not asking her."

"So you're asking yourself? The one being that can give you an honest opinion and you ignore it? Don't be such an ape."

"Oi!" Rose protested shoving him on the shoulder.

"Oi to you!" The Doctor pushed back. "If you want them to believe you're more than an ape, that you're Rose Tyler, than act like it!"

"I did, and he continued to try to hold me in like I'm some damsel."

"Gee, I wonder why he doesn't know what Rose Tyler means," Nine bit back sarcastically, stomping away from her and moving out of sight to fiddle with the rotor.

"So I should?" Rose clarified.

The TARDIS grew brighter and the Doctor's presence disappeared, because Rose knew she was going to do it when she left, what else was there to do?

o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock had watched the cab drive away, Rose turning away from staring him down to give the cabbie instructions, and stood there minutes after the cab turned out of his sight. All he could hear was Moriarty. _"I will burn the heart out of you,"_ he'd promised. But one text was all it took for Sherlock to drive his heart away.

Eventually, Sherlock walked back inside, stopping at the threshold and looking down the steps to Rose's apartment, and, without a second thought, he was descending the steps and unlocking her door. She'd lived there long enough now that her scent was everywhere, the scent of Earth and travel, and then him. His scent was mixed in all around the room, his and hers.

Sherlock collapsed on the couch and buried his head in his hands. All of his anxiety and his hyperactive tendencies felt as though they were building up inside of him ready to break the damn Rose had been helping him build. The need for nicotine was gone, he didn't need it with Rose and he didn't need it now, what he needed now was much stronger than nicotine but acquiring it was going to be hard to do in one night.

That was how Sherlock stayed for the next hours, sitting on Rose's couch, head in hands, and destructive thoughts he thought had been healed by Rose tormenting him without pause. Because Rose didn't heal him, Rose helped him, she knew the exact moment to distract him from his thoughts and when to let him know he wasn't alone.

"Sherlock," a voice called from the hallway, the last voice Sherlock needed to hear at the moment. Still, Sherlock stood from the couch, running his hand through his dark curls, and ascended the steps like a good little brother.

"What is it, Mycroft?" Sherlock asked, leaning against the banister. His brother stood just inside the apartment, leaning on his umbrella and taking in Sherlock's state.

"Did somebody die, Sherlock?" Mycroft mocked.

"Get out," Sherlock ordered, walking around the banister and heading upstairs.

"What are your intentions towards Ms. Tyler?" Mycroft's words stopped Sherlock and had him whipping around to glare at him.

"Get. Out."

"Do not make this harder on me, Sherlock, she has me here asking questions about feelings, that is all I can manage."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes to cover the increase in his heart rate at the mention of Rose. She sent Mycroft here to ask how Sherlock felt about her? Surely she couldn't doubt she was his heart and the only one that kept him sane.

"Why did she send you here?" Sherlock asked.

"She didn't, I'm here to agree or disagree with her on a controversial topic between the two of us," Mycroft explained vaguely, his eyes flitting over Sherlock as he did.

"What topic?"

"I'm here to receive answers, Sherlock, not give them away," Mycroft drawled with a roll of his eyes. "What are your intentions towards Ms. Tyler, Sherlock?"

"My intentions?" Sherlock stepped off the stairs and faced his brother down. "You're the person she sends to judge my feelings for her? My heartless brother who taught me that my feelings were the weakness that gave you superiority?" Sherlock scoffed and shook his head. "Tell her to come home."

Mycroft shook his head, "Sherlock, when will you learn."

"Learn what?" Sherlock snapped.

"No one tells Rose Tyler what to do, not you or I, not even the Queen. Somehow, you've managed to win the affection of Rose Tyler and you don't even know what that means."

Sherlock scowled at him. "Why are you asking me?"

"There is few things Rose Tyler needs permission to do, and fewer that she actually asks for permission to do. Earlier this evening, Ms. Tyler asked permission to expose the best kept secret of all the world's governments, and to you of all people." Mycroft finally revealed, speaking plainly and looking Sherlock in the eyes.

"What secret?" Mycroft shook his head.

"When she decides to return, she will tell you. You are not to speak of it to anyone else, not even John. That is non-negotiable. If there is any evidence of you sharing the information with someone who hasn't been given clearance, you'll be killed and nothing Rose or myself can do will stop that from happening. Understood?" Mycroft reached behind him and opened the door.

"She is coming back then?" Sherlock clarified, but received no answer as his brother turned away. Mycroft shut the door, once again leaving Sherlock to stare at the door, feeling his heart constrict in fear that he'd let the best thing that could have happened to him go.

It didn't take as long for Sherlock to start moving his legs that time, eventually he turned around and walked back down the stairs to collapse back on the couch. Rose Tyler. A name that didn't exist five years ago but that the two most powerful people of his acquaintance used like it was the title of a warrior or God.

 _"I don't need protection from man. I'm Rose Tyler!"_

He hadn't noted the odd phrasing in the heat of the moment, to determined to keep her safe. She didn't need protection from Man.

Sherlock rubbed his temples. What did being Rose Tyler mean?  
Warrior or God - Sherlock had thought of Rose as a Goddess in Dewer's Hollow, and as a wolf on more than one occasion. Where had the deduction come from?

She was always doing this to him, creating questions that led to more questions. Making statements that didn't make sense but they came flowing out of her lips anyways because she meant them, he just didn't understand what she meant. Her work evaded him still even though he was practically living with her now. She never brought work home, her attire varied so much that he didn't know what she was really in charge of or what she did. He'd yet to find out what UNIT even stood for, though after his talk with Mycroft months ago he knew it had something to do with the United Nations.

Sherlock heard the front door open and recognized Rose's light footsteps walking up to his apartment. He pushed up from the couch and out the door. He hit the steps but stopped when he heard her call his name from above. Sherlock looked up and locked eyes with Rose. He didn't know how she always knew what he was feeling, but for the first time he was positive he knew how she felt. The fear in her eyes was clear, but it wasn't fear of him or fear of Moriarty, he knew what she was feeling because she could read the same emotion in his eyes, fear for them.

"Rose Tyler." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then descended the stairs till she was right in front of him. Her hazel eyes met his blues, and she smiled.

"Can we talk?" Rose looked behind him at her door, taking Sherlock's hand when he nodded and pulling him back inside. Once again, Sherlock sat down on her couch, this time with Rose sitting next to him, fiddling with her fingers.

"Mycroft was here," Sherlock stated, feeling her silence would drag on a while if he didn't say something.

"Yes." Rose nodded, lifting her head and looking everywhere but him.

"Rose," Sherlock tugged on her hand, causing her to give him back her attention. "What does being Rose Tyler mean?" Rose pursed her lips, not seeming to want to start there. "Okay, what does UNIT stand for?"

"UNified Intelligence Taskforce, at least thats what it is called now. In the 50s it was called the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, but since not every country is represented in the United Nations I had it changed," Rose explained.

"And you're the director of the British Section?" Sherlock clarified, but she shook her head. "You're the director of UNIT."

"All of it." Rose bit her lip. "I wasn't always, I started out just a soldier, than director of Britain's UNIT, and then," Rose shrugged. "The position was open and I was voted in."

"Who votes?" Rose pursed her lip, Sherlock's line of questioning apparently no longer making it easy for her to answer. "Okay, intelligence on what?" Rose sighed, biting her lip as she stood from the couch and started pacing. "Are you going to give me answers at all, Rose?" Sherlock inquired, beginning to get irritated. "Mycroft said it was a large secret but if you don't trust me-"

"Do you trust me? Trust me like you trust John?" Rose countered.

Sherlock's featured softened as he caught her hand as she paced past him and held it tightly. "I trust you with my life, Rose, but more importantly, I trust you'll always tell me truth." Rose smiled down at him and returned to her seat.

"Do you remember, in Dartmoor, you told John that when you eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" Sherlock nodded. "What have you eliminated about me?"

Sherlock shook his head, a familiar headache forming as he tried to organize his thoughts about this woman. "You're a Londoner, but you're also not from London because sometimes you think a street is located in an area on the other side of town. You lost your family and a loved one. You were tor-" Sherlock scowled and looked away from Rose's beautiful, vulnerable eyes.

"Tortured," Rose finished for him, causing them both to flinch. "What else? What about UNIT?"

"You deal with organizations and groups around the country and globe that fight each other, but you're not specifically part of the military so it isn't terrorist groups. You're not a part of the United Nations so you don't settle disputes between countries because you're not a diplomat. You're not an intelligence agency that breeds spies because you're agency is global, which is also the reason you're not part of protecting the crown," Sherlock listed off, watching Rose hesitantly smile.

"So what does that leave?" Rose urged.

"Apparently the best kept secret in the world." Rose chuckled and nodded.

"In this universe at least." Rose crossed her legs on the couch and faced Sherlock. "Remember in Baskerville, we got on the elevator the first time and John asked what was kept in the basement and you, of course, noted it was odd to have a level labeled basement in a facility that was underground?" Sherlock nodded, vaguely remembering this as he had dismissed the information weeks ago. "It didn't stand for 'Basement' it stood for 'Astrobiology,' we just couldn't have a whole facility of men and women, as well as any visitors knowing about it."

"Astrobiology?" Sherlock asked, having never heard of such a thing.

"Oh," Rose sighed and rubbed her face. "I forgot John mentioned you know very little about space."

"The study of space is Astronomy, there isn't any biology in it either," Sherlock countered, mad John had told Rose one of his faults. Who cares if the earth revolved around the sun? There would be no case that would need that information to solve it.

"No, Astrobiology is the study of extra-terrestrials, or aliens as I prefer to call them."


	24. Defender of Earth

There. She said it. She worked with aliens. Rose bit her lip. Well, she hadn't said that, but this was Sherlock, he'd get it. And she could tell he did by the way he was staring at her. Eyes wide, mouth parted, blinking unseeingly. She thought he was taking it fairly well, better than what Mycroft warned her of.

"Thats not possible," Sherlock finally uttered.

Rose frowned and leaned back. "It's entirely possible, I've spent the last decade working with aliens." Perhaps that had been too much. Sherlock sprung from the couch and began pacing.

"Extra-terrestrials don't-"

"Aliens," Rose corrected and interrupted before Sherlock could say something idiotic. "Extra-terrestrial means not of Earthly origin, and there are plenty of aliens who call earth their home and could be very offended by the term," Rose was quick to explain. Sherlock continued to stare. She was doing an awful job of explaining.

"Aliens don't exist."

"Sherlock," Rose begged, grabbing his hand. "You said you trusted my word, so trust it. UNIT is in charge of monitoring alien activity on earth and ensuring no one does anything stupid like breaking galactic law."

"Galactic law?" Sherlock asked skeptically.

Rose groaned an rubbed her face. "I'm sorry, I'm doing a terrible job at explaining. It's just," Rose looked back up. "I've never had to tell anyone about aliens before. Everyone that knows, knew because they happened upon them. I never got the talk, I guess, I just ran into him and then ran with him." Rose shook her head, unable to keep the nostalgic smile from creeping up and into Sherlock's notice.

"Him?"

"The Doctor," Rose answered, her smile growing. "He's who introduced me to aliens. Well, I say introduced, really he saved me from the Nestene Consciousness and then I kept buggin' him."

"Why would you need to be saved from consciousness?" Sherlock asked, his ire having doubled since she brought up the Doctor.

"It projects consciousness into inanimate objects," Rose explain happily. "I was in my shop, workin' late and all, and these mannequins came to life! They started chasing me and everything, till the Doctor cut the signal."

"Your shop? So this Doctor is the genius you compare me to all the time?"

Rose chuckled and stood up to face Sherlock, her smile growing as she felt his jealousy grow as well. "Sherlock Holmes, there is nobody in the whole multi-universe I could compare to you," she promised, going up on her tip toes and kissing his lips a moment. "Let me tell you my story, with no more interruptions, yeah? The Doctor is a main part of who I am, and I'm not going to lie to you and say I didn't love him, but thats in the past," Rose implored Sherlock to understand.

"I'm listening," Sherlock consented, sitting in the love seat and pulling her down next to him so that they were closer than they would have been on the couch.

"So I met the Doctor and he introduced me to, well, everything. He wasn't human, you see, he was humanoid, but only because we are creatures based off of his species, the Time Lords." As she expected, Sherlock scoffed at the title.

"Lords of Time?"

Rose grinned, having made fun of the Doctor for his presumptuous race many times. "Actually yes. There is this other dimension called the Vortex, where time and space meet. The Time Lords were exposed to the Vortex for millions of years and practically evolved with it, theres a long history around it I won't get into, but basically, the Time Lords were the first to harness the power of time and space and create time and space ships."

"Time travel?" Sherlock clarified. "The Doctor could travel in space and in time?"

Rose grinned, lifting her free hand to her neck and pulling up the TARDIS key. "This is the key to the Doctor's TARDIS, a ship that is another dimension herself."

"Herself?"

"Yeah, it stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. The TARDIS is a living being who was grown and bonded to her driver. The TARDIS is a sentiment being who, I believe, is nearly all knowing." Rose fiddled with the key around her neck, pushing it against her heart when it grew warm. "She knows when there is trouble in the multi-universe that may effect the flow of time, and she brings the Doctor to it so he can save people." Rose leaned back against the couch and looked at a painting of the Milky Way. "Its hard for him, to be alone, the Time Lords were very close with each other, but now he's the last one. Thats why I went with him, traveling through space and time, leaving my mum and boyfriend behind, because he needed someone with him more than they needed me. Besides, I thought he was a better driver than he really was so I figured I'd be back hours after I left, time machine and all." Rose chuckled.

"And thats how you were introduced to Mycroft and UNIT?" Sherlock asked.

"No," Rose hesitated. "Sherlock, there is so much of my past that is insane, that goes beyond how unbelievable what I've already told you is. I want to tell you about aliens, so you understand why I'm not afraid of Moriarty. He is just a man, and I've dealt with Gods."

"Thats what Rose Tyler means? You're known in space as a warrior?"

Rose bit her lip, not wanting to consent to that barbaric title. She was a warrior, she was a soldier, but she was most importantly none of those things as well. "All of my titles, the ones I'm known for throughout time, space, and the multi-universe, is Dame Rose Tyler of the Powell Estates, Brigadier Rose Tyler Director of UNIT, Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, and Bad Wolf."

"You've been knighted?" Sherlock's eyes grew wide.

"By Queen Victoria in 1879," Rose couldn't help but laugh. "I'm the one who got her to say 'I am not amused.' Won a tenner off the Doctor for doing it too."

"And Defender of the Earth?" Sherlock pressed on, not in the same nostalgic mood as Rose had gotten into.

"The Doctor's title for me when we got separated and I started working for another alien organization called Torchwood."

"You were separated from the Doctor?" Sherlock asked. Rose's smile slipped away.

"You've noted I keep saying multi-universe I'm guessing?" Rose inquired, getting a nod in return. "Parallel universes exist, I've lived in three separate universes, all of them running along the same line, separated by a millisecond of time and a nanometer of space. Every single decision made creates a parallel existence. The space between them is called The Void and it contains nothing, however if a tear is opened it sucks everything that passes through it back inside like a black hole. I was separated from the Doctor when a tear opened and closed and I was stuck in one universe and him another."

"I'm sorry," Sherlock whispered, brushing away a tear Rose didn't know had escaped.

Rose sniffed and smiled. "Thats alright, I was separated from him for about two years before I tore my way back to him."

"Because you loved him," Sherlock observed impassively.

"Yeah," Rose didn't lie to him, she had loved the Doctor with her whole being and wouldn't down play that. "Yeah, I did, but I needed him too. The stars were going out in every universe, and I had to get back to the original one, where it was all starting, to warn him."

"They didn't go out here," Sherlock noted.

"Well, I'm very good at my job so I should think not," Rose joked. "I reached him and the friends who'd helped us in the past and we put a stop to the bad guys, all the regular stuff, but there was a cost." Rose hesitated, before she continued, remembering John's overreaction to this part of the story and worried what her boyfriend may say. "Time Lords have this ability to trick death, called regeneration, when the Doctor gets severely injured, to where he may die, all the cells in his body regenerate and he becomes a new person with the same memories but a different personality and body. During the battle, a freak regeneration occurred where the Doctor didn't change, but a copy of the Doctor, called the meta-crisis, was created. In order for the battle to be won, we had to destroy our enemies, and thats what the meta-crisis did, he committed genocide to save the universe. We won, of course, there was no one on the other side left to beat us, but the Doctor now had a copy of himself that had just killed a whole race, and he couldn't have the meta-crisis in the Original Universe on his own. When he dropped everyone home, he went through the last crack in The Void to drop my mum, dad, and Jake back in the alternate universe. I thought-" Rose shook her head with a sad smile and leaned against Sherlock's shoulder. "Well I thought I'd get to stay with him. But he couldn't leave the meta-crisis on his own, he was born in battle and that scared the Doctor, reminded him too much of his old self. I needed to be there for the meta-crisis, to help him like I used to help the Doctor, so the Doctor dropped us off and went back to the Original Universe and I haven't seen him since."

Rose took a deep breath as she felt the weight of the story lift off her shoulders, felt feelings that she'd been warring with finally ease, but more than that, she felt the tensions in Sherlock's shoulders and could feel his silence building. This wasn't like the anger John had felt on Rose's behalf. Sherlock's anger was indignant, insulted, and passionate. Rose waited for him to throw himself out of the chair and begin raving about wanting to kill the Doctor for leaving her behind, for his anger to manifest into action as it always did.

Rose felt him shift next to her and closed her eyes to prepare for his sharp movement, but opened them when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her to him tightly.

"Don't compare me to him again," Sherlock demanded, "ever." Rose glanced up and took in his scowl with a nod. "I am nothing like him. I don't care if he is a genius and knows the secrets of the universe, he's an idiot."

"Okay," Rose agreed, knowing it would be a bad idea to defend the Doctor right then.

"You don't agree with me," Sherlock pulled away, still keeping a loose grip on her but moving so he could better observe her. "You're perfectly fine that he left you with a murderer in a place you weren't from, after you'd fought to get back to him?"

"Yes," Rose nodded, grinning. "Sherlock, the meta-crisis, he didn't call himself the Doctor, he chose the name John Noble."

"Your John," Sherlock said after a pause. "In the hospital, you couldn't talk about him, and John said he died." He no doubt was taking in her much more put together ability to talk about her John compared to the last time.

"Yeah," Rose agreed, with a sad smile. "I just wasn't prepared for him to be brought up is all. I told John about him a while back in passing."

"How did he die?" Sherlock asked.

"Well, its kind of complicated." Sherlock gave her a look which made her chuckle. "Well its very alien is all."

"I think I'll manage, I'm going to have to learn anyways," Sherlock shrugged nonchalantly, but was thrown off guard when Rose sent him a bright smile, one that reached her eyes, and threw her arms around him. "Rose?" He didn't push her away, but held her as well though was confused what brought it on.

"Thank you," Rose whispered in his ear. "Thank you for believing me and not running away."

It was Sherlock's turn to chuckle as he pulled away, "I'm staying as long as you'll let me." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, causing her eyes to flutter shut and a smile to land contently on her lips.

"So, John," Rose went back on topic after a moment, moving so she sat on the arm of the chair and faced Sherlock completely. "Humans are very, very distant descendants of Time Lords, which is why we look a like, however Time Lords have a higher brain capacity, a different respiratory system, and of course the ability to regenerate."

"A different respiratory system?" Sherlock asked, then shook his head and sighed. "Two hearts?"

"Ba da da dum," Rose replied with a grin. "The Doctor had two hearts, but John Noble only had one because he was half-human, he didn't have the ability to regenerate and he had a slightly lower brain capacity, but still higher than normal humans. That was one of the reasons the Doctor left him with me, the Doctor loved me just as I did him, I don't doubt that for a second and John never denied it, but if I stayed with the Doctor he would have to watch me grow old and die, while he stayed the same and lived thousands of years past my death. With John, I got to grow old with the man I loved. That was the deal anyways," Rose sighed, smiling gratefully when Sherlock took her hand.

"He died because of the lowered brain capacity," Sherlock deduced, impressing Rose more than any other deductions he'd made.

"Yeah, it was gradual, we had a year together before the side effects made themselves known. I took him to Torchwood, the alien organization I use to work for, thinking they could do something for him, but they were no help. There was nothing to be done, and he died, not knowing who he was, where he was, or who I was." Rose closed her eyes.

She had learned to see John Noble as a separate entity of the Doctor, and had mourned his death before it even happened. He'd lost most of his motor function early on, which nearly killed him months before he passed, then his ability to make new memories, then all of his memories. Rose had taken care of him a month after she'd personally declared him dead, knowing the man she loved was gone from the body she loved.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Sherlock whispered, pulling her close and holding her as the tears escaped.

He held her for the rest of the night, not asking any more questions and just letting her talk about what she wanted to. Rose told him about her mum meeting the Doctor, about her best friends Mickey and Captain Jack, then she told him about the stars, about watching Earth die and then visiting the planet humans move to after it dies. On and on into the night, Rose finally shared a part of her past she'd never been able to share with someone else before.

There were things left unsaid, and Rose knew Sherlock still had questions, but they could wait. Rose didn't bring up her sister, she didn't bring up Torchwood, and she didn't bring up the third universe she'd lived in. Not yet.


	25. Visitors

**Rose Tyler** is typed into a database in East London, the typist leaning back and waiting for the information to pop up.

 **Rose Tyler:**

 **Birth: February 18, 1986.**

 **Mother and Father: Jackie and Pete Tyler, Births: Unknown**

 **Graduation: June 12, 2002: University of Greenwich**

 **Current Residence: 221C Baker St.**

 **Phone Number: Unknown**

 **Occupation: Brigadier and Director of UNIT**

 **Job Description: Unknown**

 **Code Name: Bad Wolf**

 **Past Residence: Unknown**

 **Jobs: Unknown**

 **Relationships: Unknown**

 **Hobbies: Unknown**

 **Talents: Unknown**

 **Resume: Unknown**

 **Unknown. Unknown. Unknown.**

It wasn't possible. He had at his disposal the most advanced database in the world that took all sources and produced the information he needed to know, and yet Rose Tyler didn't produce any information he couldn't have googled! After the camera's had failed, he'd been sure the database would work, but the only new information he'd gained was a field name.

Bad Wolf.

It wasn't much, but he could work with it.

o0o0o0o0o0o

She'd been looking for a long time. She'd been waiting for longer. But she'd found it.

She was thousands of years old, and her sister was only thirty, but it didn't matter to her, the TARDIS loved her little sister with her whole dimension and constantly looked into the Time Vortex to seek her out, but it wasn't the same. Their connection was weakened by the Void separating them, even more so now that she was in a universe the TARDIS had never been to before. She hadn't had the chance to teach her sister how to connect with her, to call out in times of trouble so the TARDIS could go to her. In this new universe of hers, the Sherlock Universe, the TARDIS's sister's life was nearly all a mystery to her except for the times she managed to make a connection.

But she'd found it.

She'd started looking for one originally for her mad Doctor, to heal his broken hearts and make the TARDIS family whole. But then her stupid Doctor put her little sister back in Pete's Universe without even consulting her, and she'd seen what it would lead to in that Universe.

She'd given him rough landings for a hundred years for that.

But she'd found it.

A tear in The Void.

She'd sealed them all up after the Doctor dropped her sister off, had to to save the universe, but then the cracks appeared and Doctor reset the universe again. All the tears returned, not that the Doctor had realized it yet.

After that, the TARDIS just had to find the right one, that led to the correct universe, the correct time and the correct place, much harder than she thought.

But she'd found the tear that led to Sherlock's Universe, and if it didn't lead to Rose's present then the TARDIS would just keep hoping around till she found her sister.

So there she flew.

"AH!" Her strays yelled as her rotor sparked and console threw them to the ground.

"Doctor, what'd you do?" She heard the red head child accuse.

"The Time Vortex, its gone!" Her Doctor exclaimed, pressing buttons to send orders to her that she promptly ignored. "That's impossible."

The TARDIS agreed, but she did it anyways. She'd become the best TARDIS to travel between universes with her Doctor, and she wouldn't even need to feed off the Doctor to gain back energy this time, her sister had been living in Sherlock's Universe for five years, been switching between Rose Tyler and the Bad Wolf. Rose had been unknowingly paving a way for the TARDIS to arrive in this new universe and feed off the Time Vortex remnants she'd emitted into London.

They landed with a large thud, her lights dimmed more than usual but stayed on. "Doctor, where are we?" The red headed child asked, her centurion following her steps around the TARDIS console. They weren't like her sister or her Doctor, they had no spare thought about her wellbeing.

"Give me a second," the Doctor snapped frequently, going over her new screen and looking at the readings. And then she felt it, that spark of hope and fear that always came with a stray thought of Rose. It made the TARDIS so happy to finally have her eleventh Doctor think of Rose that she brightened the console and pushed her happiness onto him. "What did you do?" He whispered to her.


	26. Graffiti

"Rose?" John and Rose turned before they walked all the way up the stairs, seeing Mrs. Hudson walk out of her apartment, holding a red coat.

"Yes, Mrs. Hudson?" Rose asked with a smile.

"I'm sorry dear, I thought it was for me so I opened it," Mrs. Hudson held up the bright red rain coat in Rose's direction. "It was delivered but the address stickers must have come off when it rained earlier, I didn't see your name."

"Thats not for me, Mrs. Hudson," Rose said, stepping back down the steps and holding the red coat up. "The address sticker must have fallen off awhile ago and they just dropped it here."

"It looks like little red riding hood's" John remarked with a chuckle, pulling at it to throw around Rose's shoulders. "My Rose, what ugly coats you have," John spoke in the squeaky, riding hood voice.

"The better to blind you with," Rose joked with him, taking the coat off and setting it by the door, thinking maybe she'd need it if she lost her current rain coat. "Thank you anyways, Mrs Hudson," Rose called as John and her continued up to his apartment.

"Of course, dear."

Before the two of them could reach the flat that time, Sherlock opened the door with his coat on. "Lestrade needs us," he answered their questions before they could be asked, taking Rose's hand as he passed.

"Oh good, I was just telling John how boring work has been. There is too much paper work to do as director," Rose repeated her complaints to her boyfriend, grinning when he didn't reply, knowing her mundane conversations didn't warrant a reply from him when there was a case to pursue. He'd placate her if they were both bored though so she didn't mind, that was why her and John got along so well after all. When Rose wasn't feeling as much a genius as she did a normal shop girl, her and John went out on their friendly dates.

"What does Lestrade have?" John asked as they waited for the cab to pull over.

"Apparently, its a break in he can't solve," Sherlock opened the cab door and followed Rose into the backseat, then gave directions to the police station.

"The station?" Rose asked, turning away from the window. "Someone broke into the station? Is everyone okay?"

"Well, Lestrade sounded fine," Sherlock shrugged, swallowing when Rose narrowed her eyes at him.

"You didn't ask about the rest of the force? How bad did Greg say it was?"

"Well, it wasn't on the news so it can't be that bad," John pointed out when Sherlock wouldn't admit he didn't ask.

Rose huffed and leaned back in her seat, staying silent till they reached the station, then hoping out of the cab first to hurry up the front steps. John and Sherlock followed slightly slower, both of them taking in the undisturbed scene, it looked like any ordinary day, there wasn't even police tape surrounding the broken-in building. Though Rose supposed they didn't want the public knowing London's finest had been tricked.

"Greg?" Rose called inside the building, turning in a circle till she saw the older man and rushed towards him. "You're alright? Everyone alright?" Rose asked hurriedly, throwing her arms around his neck briefly before stepping back and looking around.

"Yes, we're fine, Rose," Greg nodded, looking over her shoulder to Sherlock and John. "Whoever it was broke into only my office."

"Any suspects from the cameras?" John asked, looking around at the oddly calm force.

"Thats why I called you all in," Greg said, turning and leading the way towards the surveillance room.

Sherlock, John, and Rose piled into the small room behind Greg, Sherlock and Rose glancing over all the black and white screens before focusing on the one Greg was pointing to. It was split into four screens pointing into and around Greg's office. When they were all ready, he pressed play.

Rose watched the screen closely, hoping to solve the case before Sherlock could, but the more she watched, the less focused she was on beating her boyfriend. The screen showed the office late last night, no one inside. However, one moment the office was put together, and then the next, all of the papers were flying around the room like there was wind blowing them, with the office becoming illuminated slowly then dark again. Eventually, it settled down and Greg paused the tape.

"Is there sound?" Rose asked, but Greg shook his head.

"I don't understand," John admitted, glancing between Sherlock and Rose's confused faces. "How is it a break in? Was anything stolen."

"Well, I don't know what else to call it," Greg exclaimed. "There was no evidence of someone in my office at any time before this clip that could have planted some trick to mess up my office. Someone had to have been there, and they left something too- come on." Greg hurried out of the room and up the stairs to his office, explaining the whole way up. "I came in this morning, before everyone else, and I found my office a disaster. No one took any of the files, they just went through them and threw everything around. The problem is-

"There is no sign of them coming in or out," Sherlock finished. Rose was glad she was in the back of the room and no one caught her stumble.

"Like they materialized inside my office," Greg nodded, opening the door onto the third floor and holding it open for all of them. "That's my office there. When we didn't find any fingerprints, we moved the sensitive information elsewhere and left what evidence there was."

Rose didn't follow Sherlock and John into the room, but stood in the doorway and took in the mayhem. It looked like a mini tornado had appeared in the room.

It looked like a scene she'd seen before.

When Rose looked to what evidence John was observing, she bit her lip and clinched her fists to avoid overreacting. There was an imprint in the carpet, a perfectly square imprint that had to belong to a box large enough, and therefore heavy enough, to leave an imprint in the carpet for hours after it was only there a second.

Rose turned when she felt his stare, it wasn't his emotions that always alerted her he was watching, it was the stare itself. She turned and met Sherlock's blue eyes that watched her expression and reactions, seeing into her soul and asking it to look at him. Rose looked at Sherlock who stood next to the second piece of evidence in the room, what was left behind from the supposed intruders.

Sherlock held a newspaper, one neither of them had seen before and she could feel the temporal energy around it.

A newspaper with the front page reading, "Bad Wolf."

"Rose," Sherlock spoke softly, no doubt worried as her face grew ashen, but she didn't stay in the room long enough to feel out his emotions. She just turned and ran.

She ran as fast as her feet could take her, down the stairs and out the front door, then she kept running, down the street and around every corner. Looking and begging. Begging for what, she didn't know.

Eventually, she found herself at a corner around the street from Powell Estates, in a large paved area where people came to play ball and sit and stare at graffiti. This was where, in another universe, Rose stared into the heart of the TARDIS and gained a sister. This was where she became Bad Wolf.

But there was no sign of it. No Bad Wolf graffiti, no Bad Wolf signs, and no TARDIS.

"Damn you," Rose whispered to the world, collapsing on the bench she'd once cried on with Mickey. "Why would you do that to me? Why trick me like that?" Rose asked herself, her past self who spread the words Bad Wolf throughout the universe.


	27. Molly

It wasn't until a week later that Sherlock was able to get coherent words out of Rose, and another before the nightmares faded away again. It hadn't taken long for Sherlock to put together that she thought it was the TARDIS that had been in Lestrade's office, that the Bad Wolf fake newspaper was meant to be a sign. From what little he understood about Rose's world, it wasn't possible to travel between universes anymore, which meant someone was playing a cruel trick on Rose and she didn't realize it.

Sherlock had gone over the tape and all of the station looking for something he had missed, a clue as to who was intentionally hurting Rose, but after a week all he had was a mourning girlfriend he had no way of helping except to hold her when she asked him to. What she was mourning, he didn't ask because he feared the answer may kill him. Rose had told him the story of the Doctor as though she had moved on from her first love, but having the hope of seeing him again taken from her seemed to be effecting her as much as it would for a loved one.

He caught Rose looking around corners more often, or looking over her shoulder when the wind blew hard, but she didn't want to talk about it. He didn't either, because every time she went looking for that ship, he feared she would find it.

Slowly, things went back to normal. Rose stayed the night with Sherlock more and more often, waking up to make breakfast before she went to UNIT and he sat around the house waiting for a case or for her to come home. She started smiling brightly more often the more time passed, until one day she was once again able to tell him stories about her travels without crying.

He watched her all the time, looking for signs of distress but mainly for the far away look in her eyes to appear. She'd started going into what she called her Mind TARDIS more often, Rose claimed it was to clear her head and calm her emotions, but Sherlock felt it was to have the illusion of being in the TARDIS with the Doctor.

"Sherlock?" Rose called him out of his thoughts that were making him frown and tense, glancing at him from her seat in John's chair.

Sherlock just shook his head instead of answering, standing from the chair to find a distraction in the kitchen. Rose's eyes followed his movements, until his phone rang on the table and they both looked at it. Sherlock didn't move towards it so Rose answered.

"Hello?" Rose asked, then smiled a little. "Hullo, Greg, what do you need?" Sherlock reached towards the coat hanger and pulled his and Rose's coats off, glancing at John's and wondering if he should call him away from the date he was on.

"Don't think about it," Rose teased, snapping his phone shut and grabbing his hand. "Let John go on his date while we go on ours." She winked and grinned, and though Sherlock's dark thoughts still lingered he couldn't help but smile back.

"What does Lestrade have for us?" Sherlock asked while Rose pulled him down the stairs in a run. No matter how urgent the case, he loved how Rose would always grab his hand and run.

"An older woman has been killed and is waiting for us in the morgue, he said the body is with Molly who asked for your help determining the poison that killed her," Rose explained, jumping into the cab and leaning against his shoulder while Sherlock told the driver where to go. "Whose Molly?" Rose asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"She works in the morgue and often helps Lestrade and I on our joint cases," Sherlock explained, looking down at her looking up at him. "Why?"

"Not many girls in your acquaintance that would ask for your presence," Rose shrugged. Sherlock frowned, not sure what that meant or why, when they got out of the car, Rose held tighter to his hand, but he didn't say anything. Sherlock led the way to the morgue, letting go of Rose's hand briefly to open the door for her.

"Hello, Molly, lovely dress," Sherlock complimented Molly as was his tendency to stay on the favored side of the scientist that let him practically run her lab.

"Hello, Sherlock," Molly piped up from the lab tables just as Rose sauntered through the door and looked around the laboratory. "Oh," Molly said in surprise. Sherlock watched the interaction closely, curious as to Rose's slightly off mannerisms. "Who's this?"

"Rose Tyler," Rose answered with a wide grin despite adopting her Brigadier tone, offering her hand. "I'm here to help this one," Rose explained, shaking Molly's hand with a teasing smile sent his way which he struggled not to react to. Sherlock's favorite part of bringing Rose on cases with him was the added mental effort of competing against her to solve it first.

"Help him?" Molly asked, dropping her hand and looking to Sherlock, who walked past both women to head to the cadaver on the table.

"So who's this?" Sherlock asked, looking over his shoulder as Rose walked towards him and observed the pale, frail body of the old woman in front of them.

"Mrs. Rider," Molly answered. "But her family called her Grandma."

"Just grandma? Not very original," Rose commented, walking around the body and meeting Sherlock's eyes with a wink that had him rolling his eyes.

"Cause of death?" Sherlock asked, making Rose scoff.

"I believe it's poison but I've been unable to detect any," Molly explained, stepping next to Sherlock to look at the body. Rose stood on the other side and glanced towards them before continuing to observe.

"'Course it's poison, look at her eyes, no doubt her stomach is a mess too," Rose pointed out. She made herself comfortable in the lab and walked over to the table Sherlock frequented the most and looked over the samples Molly had prepared for him. "Nice of you to put these together for me, Molly," Rose called to the woman next to Sherlock who kept looking back and forth between Sherlock and Rose.

"Oh, well they were meant for Sherlock so DI Lestrade could have the results quickly," Molly explained harmlessly, but Sherlock internally winced when Rose's head snapped up.

"I'm sure Greg will be happy I'm here to help, he is the one keeping track of whose winning, y'know Sherlock?" Rose reminded him, smirking because their last case had put her in the lead.

"I'm aware of them betting on us, yes," Sherlock nodded, walking towards Rose with Molly trailing him.

"Winning what?" Molly asked.

"Who's solved the most cases," Rose answered, switching out a slide to look in another. "I'm about to beat you on this one as well, Sherlock."

Sherlock grumbled under his breath and took a seat beside her to look over the slides remaining, however he was far too distracted by the woman next to him who kept tapping her foot against him and glancing his way right when he felt he was focusing on the slide.

"You work together than? Like you and John?" Molly clarified.

Sherlock was about to answer in the affirmative, but he saw Rose out of the corner of his eyes go still, waiting for his answer, and her behavior clicked into place to where he understood. Sherlock chuckled, but Rose looked up from her microscope and kicked him to make him quit. He smiled fondly at her, at his jealous girlfriend, and the tension that had been building over the past weeks, since he felt the Doctor had inserted himself into their relationship, finally fell away enough to see his adoration reflected back at him in Rose's eyes.

"Rose is my girlfriend," Sherlock answered, still chuckling a little at the ire in Rose's stance.

"Girlfriend?" Molly asked in shock, looking at Rose in a mixture of awe and confusion.

"For six months," Sherlock nodded, looking down at the microscope again.

"Has it really been six months?" Rose asked in shock, for the first time distracted longer than he was, long enough for him to win this round.

"Its Wolfsbane!" Sherlock proclaimed, interrupting Rose and Molly's conversation about how they got together. Rose blinked at the name, and he worried he'd shocked her into mourning, but she pushed through it and grinned at him instead.

"You win this round, Sherlock Holmes," Rose teased.

"I'll win the next too, Rose Tyler," Sherlock teased back, aware of Molly's stare, but not caring as he picked up Rose's hand and kissed her knuckles, attempting to convey his emotions the best he could, and by her smile, she knew how he was feeling like she always did.


	28. James Moriarty

John, Sherlock, and Rose sat around the lab table silently. John and Rose nibbled on their take out food, occasionally chatting but mostly watching Sherlock work. John and Sherlock had been called in to consult on a young girl's death, not to find the cause of death or the killer, as that had been obvious, but to lead the police in the right direction of a suspect. When Greg had called, Rose had been working at UNIT, but after work brought dinner to Molly's lab for all four of them and proceeded to talk with Molly like old friends while John and Sherlock worked.

John had been surprised by how easily the two women got along, he'd been present for their second meeting and had watched Rose make her Alpha Female status known and on occasion elicit a romantic response from Sherlock. After that, John had been sure there would be no kind feelings between the girls, but then he didn't understand girls. Rose had explained that she simply needed to ensure Molly knew what kind of woman Rose was and what kind of relationship her's and Sherlock's was, once that had been established Rose stopped bounding around like Brigadier Tyler and quickly befriended the scientist.

Now, however, Molly had gone home, and Rose and John were waiting for Sherlock to conclude the case on the young girl named Ruby who'd been led into the woods by an unknown suspect, and then been mauled by wolves. Rose had said she was glad she had not been called in on that one, child cases were ones she couldn't stomach.

Sherlock had entered his Mind Palace to review the crime scene that was now closed, so when his phone rang on the desk, he didn't hear it and Rose reached over to pick it up. "It's Greg, maybe they found something else." She answered. "Hey, Greg, its Rose."

John watched the smile from Rose's lips fade. "Whats wrong?" John turned and saw Sherlock focused back in on the world.

"Why can't you tell me?" Rose asked, looking over at Sherlock. "Yeah, he's right here." Rose offered the phone to Sherlock, but he didn't take it till she explained, "there's been a murder, apparently Greg doesn't want me there."

Sherlock frowned and put the phone to his hear. "Lestrade." Sherlock listened in silence, John and Rose straining to hear what the DI had to say but got nothing. Sherlock hung up without another word and grabbed his coat.

"Lets go, John," Sherlock instructed, walking towards the doors. John and Rose jumped off the stools and hurried after him.

"I'm coming too," Rose declared. Sherlock looked down at her with a frown.

"Thats what I thought you were doing," Sherlock replied, taking her hand. He looked back to John over Rose's head and nodded at him. John nodded back and stuck to Rose's other side, he assumed when he got there he would understand why Lestrade didn't want Rose there.

Sherlock didn't fill them in on the car ride, he sat silently in the back of the cab with Rose looking between him and the window, for his part, John was looking around the area trying to wrack his brain for what Greg was worried about on Rose's behalf. Nothing scared Rose.

Except, John realized, the burglary incident at the police station. Sherlock had spent a week after that shushing John and sending him dirty looks every time he asked Rose what was wrong, he never did figure out why a break in spooked her so much. She'd closed in on herself, hadn't gone to work, and would only talk to Sherlock. John supposed that was a good sign for their relationship, but he worried about his friend, practically his sister, and wished she would confide in him as well.

The cab dropped them out at the entrance of an alley that was taped off with bright yellow police tape and a loosely put up curtain, Donovan was out front guarding as usual. John paid the cab and got out before Sherlock and Rose, he nodded to Donovan who nodded back and glanced at Sherlock and Rose.

"Still together than?" She asked with a frown.

"Yup," John answered.

"They aren't going to like whats back there," Donovan admitted, sounding regretful as the couple exited the cab holding hands. "Brigadier, Freak," she nodded to them both, the bite to her tone not all present and they all heard it.

"Sally," Rose nodded back with a frown, glancing down the alley. "Greg back there?"

"Yes, ma'am, and he said if you arrived to keep you back here," Donovan admitted. "But thats up to you if you'd like to listen." Sherlock frowned at Sally while Rose looked down the alley and nodded, squaring her shoulders and moving to take the lead.

John stepped in front of Rose and shook his head, deciding it was better for the trio if he was there first. Rose nodded and Sherlock stared on. John pushed back the curtain and entered the alley.

One the back wall of the alley, the words "Big Bad Wolf" were spray painted across it, and laying under it was a woman in her late twenties. John stepped forward and observed the bullet wound to her head, but also the strategically placement of the body the killer had done. The young blonde lay peacefully next to the wall, her eyes shut and hands laying on her stomach with a bright red rose between them.

"Sherlock," John said, turning around to tell him to keep Rose out, but he turned around and spotted Rose's still form standing behind him. "Rose, don't look," John instructed, but Rose shook her head at him and walked towards the corpse.

"Rose?" Greg called from the side of the alley. Rose turned her head towards him and frowned.

"Greg, why did you tell Sally not to let me in?" Rose asked, in her normal snappy voice.

John turned to look at Sherlock who was frowning at the scene and his girlfriend. John wondered what Sherlock had been worried to see, because it seemed as though his friend was more relaxed now.

"Well, because, y'know," Greg gestured around the scene nervously, not as use to be subjected to Rose's ire as Sherlock and John were. "The blonde, the rose and last time with the big bad wolf you-"

"No, last time it was Bad Wolf," Rose stopped him, stepping around him and crouching down beside the blonde. "Everyone in the universe knows the difference."

"Whats the difference?" Anderson asked from his position next to the cameras. Rose looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"Excuse us, Anderson, I believe Greg wanted Sherlock, John, and I here to do your job. You can go now," Rose dismissed. She looked behind her shoulder at where Sherlock and John still stood and said, "Well, come on boys, do I have to do everything?"

John stepped forward and examined the body with Rose, while Sherlock moved to the words. "I thought Bad Wolf was the big bad wolf," John whispered to Rose when he thought no one was listening.

"Do shut up, John," Sherlock complained. Rose chuckled but sent him an apologetic smile.

Sherlock finished with the words and crouched beside Rose, briefly glancing at her. "Not for you then?" John barely heard him whisper.

"This is murder," Rose pointed out with a shake of her head. "Its just a coincidence." Sherlock seemed unsure but nodded and got back to work.

"Well, what do you think?" Greg asked when they all stood up.

"I need more time, the killer didn't leave behind anything that could have DNA on it. The bullet hole suggests a standard Smith & Wesson Model 10 Revolver, a gun so common even Mrs. Hudson has one. The spray paint is just Krylon Yellow, he could have bought it in any connivence store in the world. There wasn't a struggle, she may have been killed somewhere else in her sleep and brought here."

"You have nothing?" Greg summarized, which made Sherlock scowl and John chuckle. "What about you, Rose?"

"I've come to the same conclusion, though I don't think she was killed far from here, there is still quite a lot of blood under her. Maybe look over the rose, but its been dethorned and could have been bought anywhere," Rose explained.

Greg rubbed his face in agitation. "Alright, what about the girl, Ruby? Find anything there?" Sherlock scowled again. "Damn, that makes three unsolved cases this month."

"Three?" John asked surprised Sherlock had let the number grow so much.

"First the grandma, then little ruby with the wolves, and now this one, the big bad blonde."

The three men turned when Rose dropped the scalpel. "Rose?" John asked, reaching her before Sherlock and taking a hold of her hand. A squeeze of her hand was all it took to bring her back from staring at the young blonde on the floor.

"Sorry," Rose shook her self and smiled at John, turning her back on the scene, Greg, and Sherlock to face John. "Zoned out there a sec, got a bit of a stomach ache too, don't think that take outs agreeing with me now." John frowned, looking over her shoulder at Sherlock who had completely forgotten about the case and was focused on Rose.

"Do you need me to take you home?" John asked.

"That would be great," Rose agreed, placing a hand on her stomach. "Sherlock, why don't you stay here, try to solve one of the three cases for Greg, yeah?" Rose suggested lightly, sending him a smile.

Sherlock hesitantly nodded, "you're okay?"

"Just a bug, I'm sure," Rose agreed, turning back around and walking out with John. "I'll see you later," she called over her shoulder, looking back with a smile.

John helped Rose catch a cab, keeping a tight hold on her hand as she still had a pallor color about her and kept staring off into space. Eventually, he got her into and out of a cab and back home. When they opened the front door, John started heading upstairs but Rose stopped him, standing next to the coat rack no one ever used but still had the random red coat swinging from it.

"I'm going to take a nap in my apartment, I'll come up when Sherlock gets home." Rose walked down the steps with a smile. "I'm sure all I need is a glass of water, don't worry 'bout me."

John hesitated, but when she reached her apartment and closed the door, he shrugged, knowing it was fruitless to argue with Rose Tyler.

o0o0o0o0o

Rose leaned her head against the door, listening to John's footsteps up the stairs, then the opening and closing of his door, and then through the thin roof, his footsteps leading into the kitchen. While he was furthest away from the room, Rose flew out of the room and up the steps, grabbing the ghastly red coat and out the front door.

How could she have been so slow?

Red coat. Grandma and wolfsbane. Little Ruby and wild wolves. Big Bad Wolf and a blonde? Someone was trying to get her attention in a very unconventional way, a way that was not putting them on her good side.

But they were watching her, had to be. They only struck when she was with Sherlock and could be apart of the investigation in some way.

Rose walked aimlessly threw the streets of London, pulling the hood of the bright red coat up to cover her face from those whose eyes were attracted to it.

"Excuse me?" A voice chimed to Rose's right as she passed the entrance to Green Park.

Rose turned, looking at the man standing next to the large black gates and white pillars. He had dark black hair, a suit Mycroft would have been a fan of, and a wide, hesitant smile to make him appear more welcoming. Rose knew better, knew he was the most dangerous human she'd come across in any universe, a pure human Dalek. A man who didn't emit any emotions save hunger for chaos.

Rose stopped walking and faced him, narrowing her eyes and throwing back the hood. "Hello, James," Rose greeted.

James Moriarty's hesitant smile dropped and was replaced with an ecstatic one, his eyes wide as he looked on her. "Ms. Tyler, truly a pleasure." Moriarty offered his hand in greeting, but Rose ignored it. "Ah, ah, now thats just rude, Rose."

"So is having an injection up your sleeve," Rose pointed out. "Theres no need to drug me, you've already gotten my attention." Rose kept her hands in the red coat's pocket, twisting the miniaturized cyberman gun around her fingers. To the close observer, they would assume she was fiddling her fingers out of nerves.

"Yes," He pulled out a syringe and dropped it on the ground, stepping on it. "And how did you like my display?" Moriarty stepped away from the gates and walked closer to Rose, and despite it being rush hour, Rose realized all the people she had been walking with in the crowds of London had disappeared. "I tried so hard to get you to notice me," Moriarty pouted. "It wasn't until I had to spell it out for you did you get it, faster than Sherlock though so I guess I'll let it go."

"Mighty kind of you," Rose remarked, following his movements as he began to circle her. "Though not so kind to those people you murdered."

"Psh," Moriarty shrugged, stopping in front of her and grinning. "Murdered, what a harsh word. I solved the problem for them, I'm sure they'd thank me."

"What problem?" Rose asked. Moriarty grinned, rocking back and forth on his toes.

"The Final Problem, hasn't Sherlock told you? Or is he being slow again?" Moriarty shrugged with a casual roll of his eyes. "No matter, thats for him to find out, not you."

"What am I here for then? Why kill three people to get my attention, I'm no one to you."

Moriarty jumped up and down, pointing at Rose, "Exactly!" Moriarty stopped and stared, motioning at her wildly, "You're no one to anyone! You don't exist."

"Yet here I am," Rose deadpanned.

"Here you are," Moriarty looked her up and down with a satisfied smile. "I was only mildly interested when I saw you on the arm of our beloved detective, but then one background check was all it took for me to fall head over heels."

"Sorry, I'm taken," Rose narrowed her eyes at Moriarty, not at all wanting to play games with him. Moriarty stumbled back and clutched his heart. "Please stop, you're becoming quite boring," Rose snapped, which had Moriarty standing up straight and frowning, all traces of humor gone.

"Oh, you have quite a lot to learn, Ms. Tyler," He tutted, shaking his head.

"I believe I'm the one with all the information, Mr. Moriarty," Rose tilted her head. "That's why I'm here isn't it? You're trying to deduce me, just like Sherlock did, find out my secrets to exploit them," Rose took a step forward. "Tell me, have you found anything?"

Moriarty narrowed his eyes. "Whats a killer doing on the side of the angels?" She tried to hide the effect his words had on her, continued to stare him down, but a tilt of her lips and an intake of breath was all the genius criminal needed to note her distress. "Oh, don't go all regretful on me, its too cliche."

"I don't know what you're talking-"

"NO!" Moriarty stopped her, wide eyed and breathing harshly. "No. We do not lie to each other, Ms. Tyler, thats not how this goes."

"The Master of Disguise doesn't want to lie?" Rose retorted with a dry chuckle.

"Out of the two of us, Rose, I do believe you take the title for Master of Disguise," Moriarty began pacing again, ending by her side and whispering. "Bad Wolf."

Rose stayed silent, keeping Bad Wolf under control and the cyberman gun in hand. "Figure out what it means then?" Rose turned to stare Moriarty down. "You had hidden cameras in the alley, you heard what I said, so tell me. Whats the difference?"

Moriarty stepped away. "You were wrong," Moriarty expertly avoided the question. "You're not here for me to learn your secrets, you can keep them."

"Then why am I here?" Rose snapped, her voice rising in irritation.

"I already told you that," he hummed, his playful persona coming back into place. "Whats a killer doing on the side of the angels?"

Rose stepped back and dared to laugh. "You think, because I've killed, I'll give you easy access to Sherlock?"

Moriarty smirked and laughed with her, "Oh, Rosie, Rosie, Rosie. You underestimate me. You'll give me easy access to Sherlock, because if you don't I'll tell your angels about the demon hiding amongst them. I'll make sure the whole world knows about the hundreds you've muurderred," Moriarty dragged out the word. "Sherlock, the little doctor, and your precious UNIT."

Rose stared at the man before her, the man her boyfriend and his brother feared. A man. She continued staring at him, in her best shocked expression, before she couldn't take it any longer and she chuckled, then had to brace herself on her knees as she erupted into full fledged laughter.

"What?!" Moriarty asked angrily, stepping closer to her, but before he could get too close and act on his murderous feelings, Rose pulled out the cyberman gun and pressed the button to enlarge it. Moriarty stopped walking towards her as he now had a large, metal, and bulky gun pressed into his chest.

"And you said I was being cliche," Rose tutted, pressing the gun further into his chest. "You should have planned to observe during this meeting, gain information, not fish for it. You don't even know what UNIT stands for do you? What being director entails?"

Moriarty narrowed his eyes, sending her a clear message that she was only safe because of the gun pointing at his black heart. "Going to kill me, too, Rose?"

"No, I don't tend to play with man, you're all too simple. I'll leave you for Sherlock," Rose smirked as Moriarty obviously started analyzing her word choice. "Now, I'm gonna head home, this was," Rose paused, pulling up the gun and leaning it on her shoulder, "entertaining at least."

"You think I'm gonna let you leave?" Moriarty hissed, Rose swung the gun forward, landing on her supporting hand with a smack.

"Yeah, I do, because you just watched me materialize a gun out of nowhere. Imagine what other tricks I have up my sleeve. I've killed hundreds after all, whats one spider to me?"

"My people are watching you, right now, they'll shoot you the moment you turn the corner."

Rose glanced around the area, "and I'm assuming you've shut down all of Mycroft's cameras so he doesn't know I'm in trouble."

"First thing I did," Moriarty started grinning, feeling as though he was winning again.

"And of course UNIT's too?" Rose cocked her head to the side. "That was the second thing, I hope?"

He frowned, glancing around now, but not spotting the high tech cameras she'd had placed around London to monitor local aliens. She trusted the aliens she allowed to mingle around the city, but had constant surveillance to ensure no trouble with humans activated a defense mechanism. At all times, people were watching the cameras, she had a whole section of UNIT devoted to it. Her phone had started vibrating two minutes ago.

"There are no cameras," Moriarty bit back, trying to step around the gun, but Rose cocked it and leveled it to his head. On her chest, several red dots appeared.

"It's been, what, five minutes, 'bout three since you threatened me? Won't be long before my team shows up, and I do hope you'll stay around to meet them. Trained them all myself, I did." Rose enjoyed flitting back and forth from her accents, knowing certain sentences were much more threatening with a cockney accent, and others more dangerous with a posh one.

"You're bluffing," Moriarty narrowed his eyes. "You really think they're that loyal to you?"

"Stop fishing, James, its embarrassing for all of us. If you haven't gotten any information yet, you certainly won't this way," Rose scolded. Down the street, sirens and screeching tires could be heard. Moriarty's eyes widened. "Kill me, and my people will find you, it'll be so easy they'll be thanking me for their day off," Rose lowered the gun and stepped forward. "Or, you tell your people to stand down, and leave me alone."

"What? Not going to ask protection for your boyfriend as well?" Moriarty sneered.

"Sherlock? No, I know how this story ends." Rose smirked, but the cars were approaching faster, so Moriarty only walked backwards, hands behind his back so she didn't see the signal that called off the red dots on her chest.

"I'll be seeing you again, Ms. Tyler," He said with a nod.

"I look forward to it." Rose nodded back, before he turned and walked into the park. Rose kept her eyes on him until her team arrived and escorted her into the van.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock was only a hour behind on Rose's deduction that the three unsolved cases were connected. He'd been too focused on solving one of them, to get the bitter feeling out of his mouth at having an unsolved case, to realize he'd never be able to solve them, they'd been staged for his and her benefit. Sherlock had gone back to the lab to look over all of the information, hoping to pick one to finish, and had realized with them all spread out what had been staring him in the face. What Rose realized a hour before and had a hour head start on whatever insane idea had popped into her head when she realized Moriarty was killing people to get her attention.

Sherlock had raced home, avoiding as much of the rush hour traffic as he could, but had still gotten home later than he wished. Upon entrance, Sherlock saw Rose's door was open, but no sign of distress so he hoped, begged, she was only upstairs with John.

Taking the steps two a time, Sherlock arrived in his flat to see his best friend, sitting on the couch with a sandwich in hand, Rose no where in the apartment. Without a word to his now alert and worried mate, Sherlock turned back around and ran down the stairs, but before he could open the door, it opened itself.

Rose stepped into the apartment, wearing the red rain coat that had been sent to the flat on accident. She looked up to see the state Sherlock was in and bit her lip, turning and hanging the coat up and waving at a van in the street that was waiting for her confirmation, Sherlock hoped it was a friend not a foe.

"Where have you been?" Sherlock asked, bounding to her and turning her this way and that to get a good look at her.

"I went on a walk," Rose answered. "And met James Moriarty." Sherlock froze.

"Wait, what?" John asked from the top of the staircase. "You met Moriarty in the past hour, and you're fine? What happened to your stomach ache."

Rose smiled fondly at John, then focused back on Sherlock. "I'm fine,"

"What'd he do?" Sherlock demanded. "Did he try to hurt you?"

"Tried to use me to get to you, he wasn't even interested in UNIT, bit rude," Rose shrugged, obviously trying to ease Sherlock's worry by being nonchalant, but it only made him more irritated.

"You went up against the biggest criminal master mind in the world without telling me anything," Sherlock said angrily. "What if something happened?"

"Nothing happened, though, m'fine!" Rose twirled around in front of him. "See? He was the one in the most danger."

Sherlock shook his head and breathed out harshly. "He is James Moriarty, Rose, you could have died."

"He's a man," Rose reminded him gently, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his torso, he didn't hesitate to gather her in his arms and hold on tightly. "Don't I tell you every time I go on a dangerous mission with UNIT."

"Rose Tyler," Sherlock murmured, shaking his head then kissing hers.

"Wait, hold on before you get gross," John hurried down the stairs as Rose stepped away from Sherlock, but he kept a firm grip on her waist. "You met Moriarty?"

"Yes," Rose nodded. "The unsolved cases were all his doing, to get my attention. The red coat was for when I knew what he was doing so he would approach me."

"And you're alive."

"I'm Rose Tyler, John," Rose smirked.

"But what happened?" John asked, wide eyed, though not as worried as he would have been if Sherlock had not already been assured she was okay.

"He tried to flirt with me and I told him I wasn't single, he didn't take it well," Rose joked, looking up at Sherlock but he frowned down at her. She rolled her eyes, "He wanted me to give him easy access to Sherlock, I told him no, then pulled a gun and UNIT came to pick me up so he left." She summarized.

"How was he going to manage that, I mean look at you two." Sherlock watched Rose blush and bite her lip, glancing up then back down when she saw him staring at her.

"Well, he thought, because I've killed before, you all wouldn't want me around so he used that over my head, thinking you didn't know."

"We've all killed before," John commented with a confused frown and scrunched up eyebrows.

"Okay, he thought because I've killed hundreds you wouldn't want me around anymore," Rose said hurriedly, tensing in Sherlock's arms and looking down at the floor.

John and Sherlock locked eyes in shock. The fact that Rose had killed people wasn't a surprise, she was a Brigadier and the director of a secret military division, but hundreds? She was thirty years old, and she was Rose. Sherlock wasn't sure what to think about that, where in her past that fit because, according to her, the Doctor abhorred killing and so did she. She avoided it at all costs and when she had killed months ago before meeting them at the pub, Sherlock had seen how distraught she was. Someone like that couldn't stomach killing hundreds of people or aliens.

But none of that mattered because Rose wouldn't look back up from the floor and John was staring at her in an unsettling manner. "He should have used the first meeting to learn about you then, been more observant at the times he spied on us." Sherlock adopted his tone he usually saved for speaking to Anderson, a tone he'd never on any other occasion associated with his enemy.

Rose looked back up at him with a wide grin, going up on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.


	29. The Right Street

"Doctor! Make her stop!" Amy Pond yelled inside her console room. Had the TARDIS had the ability, she would have rolled her eyes. The human should have learned by now that the Doctor had little, to no control over where the TARDIS wanted to go.

"I'm trying!" Her Doctor snapped, hitting buttons and pulling levers the best he could manage as her ship shook and passengers bounced around inside her.

The first landing hadn't been a success, the last thing she needed was to be in the middle of a police station in an unknown universe. The TARDIS wanted to materialize as close to Rose's proper timeline as possible, and as close to her home as possible. They'd materialize two more times after the police station, first in the middle of some woods in Dartmoor and then by a pub, but none of them were right.

Throughout all of this, the Doctor continued to yell at her and the impossibility of what she was doing, while his companions yelled at him. The atmosphere inside her box was tense and slightly hostile towards her, but she did not care, she was having a blast. The longer she was in this universe, the more places she hoped around, the more knowledge she gained. And oh, her Doctor was going to love Sherlock's Universe.

If she could just make it to the right street.


	30. Bad Wolf

Despite giving the initial impression that he was fine, Rose found that in the coming weeks Sherlock was most certainly not okay that she had come close to death. He'd started insisting on hanging out in his apartment where he could glance out the window, became much more likely to ask her to stay the night though he never found any complaints there. The worst though, the one that they all knew was going to end in a large fight, was Sherlock didn't take her on his cases anymore, which meant they didn't go out anymore. All they ever did was hangout in the apartment and Rose was going to go crazy.

"There is nothing wrong with my flat," Sherlock always replied when Rose wanted to go out. He'd even managed to get John on his side. When Rose went to John for a distraction and hopefully a bar run, John claimed he was busy or wanted to stay in. Pretty quickly, Rose was wishing she had more than two friends.

"I'm going out," Rose declared one afternoon, marching in, then out of the boy's apartment. They followed her of course.

"Where are you going?" Sherlock asked. He was smart enough to know he couldn't contain her to the house, but he was trying his very best anyways.

"Out."

"Why?" John asked, stumbling behind Sherlock's long steps. They all ended up on the sidewalk, Sherlock and John frowning at her as she hailed a cab.

"Because if I don't I may just commit murder, and you two certainly won't be around to catch me," Rose grinned wolfishly over her shoulder at them.

"Where are you gong?" Sherlock repeated.

"Maybe to the station, or to the lab, Greg is always finding something for you, he'll find something for me. And if not, I'll go hangout with Molly." Rose shrugged.

"I'm coming with you," Sherlock declared.

Rose turned around and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say you couldn't, warden." Sherlock frowned at her, and Rose was sure he would have stuck his tongue out if he wasn't older than her.

She did it for him, which had John chuckling.

"Well, I'm not going, I actually do want to stay inside now that you two won't be bickering all afternoon." John waved to them both then headed back inside.

"So, dinner?" Rose asked, climbing into a cab as it arrived.

"I thought you said you were going to Lestrade," Sherlock climbed in after her while she told the driver an address for a restaurant nearby.

"I said maybe, but now that my dear boyfriend has gotten out of the house, I want to go on a date for once." Rose leaned her head against his shoulder, pleased that the emotions he was emitting were more happy than they were irritated.

"We go on plenty of dates."

"Cases don't count as dates unless they're above a eight."

"I could find us a nine," Sherlock said, begging not to be made to sit in a public area.

"You haven't found more than a six in weeks," Rose shot the idea down, leaning around to glance out the window. "Anyways, you're too late, we've arrived." Sherlock groaned as she climbed out of the cab, for a second Rose thought he was considering just staying in the cab and going home, but one look at the crowded restaurant and Rose standing on the sidewalk alone had him heading after her.

"I hate restaurants," Sherlock whined.

"I'm thinking chips, what about you?" Rose ignored him, stepping up to the hostess for menus and a table.

"We could have gone anywhere if you wanted chips," Sherlock grumbled.

"Its not all I'm getting," Rose laughed at her childish boyfriend. They were luckily seated in the back of the room, so Rose gave up the seat with the back against the wall to Sherlock so he would possibly stop complaining. She trusted him to alert her if he observed something dangerous in the vicinity.

"I don't understand why dinner at a place that isn't your home counts as a date, it is still just dinner," Sherlock remarked.

"What do you count as a date then?" Rose asked, looking over the menu. She'd ordered the plate of chips before they'd sat down. It was best to order quickly with Sherlock, she was already pushing it with this impromptu date.

"Spending time alone doing pleasurable activities," Sherlock remarked. Rose dropped her menu and stared at Sherlock in shock. He just looked on confused. "What?"

"What kind of pleasurable activities?" Rose whispered, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hands and smirking at Sherlock as his eyes grew and a slight blush crept up his neck.

"Well," He cleared his throat. "Solving crimes, chess, reading books-"

"Star gazing?" Rose asked, her teasing tone gone. "Can we do that?"

Sherlock nodded, smiling only slightly at her, though she knew he was amused. "If you'd like, we could leave and have a go at that."

Rose shook her head and laughed, "No, stargazing with me is best done alone, without John listening to some of my stories." Sherlock grumbled and slumped back in his chair. "Yeah, you're not getting out of here that easy."

Despite initial grumbling and complaining, once the chips came and due to Rose keeping the conversation pleasant, Sherlock did seem to enjoy their night out. They even stayed a few minutes after they had gotten the check and paid, which Rose was sure he had done for her benefit because once she suggested they leave he sprung out of his seat and pulled her out of hers.

They were laughing as the ran out of the restaurant and down the street, too full and too close to home to consider getting a cab. Rose was elated to have gotten out of the house and successfully shown Sherlock he didn't need to worry about them going out, they weren't going to be threatened every time.

"Do you feel that?" Sherlock asked, stopping on the sidewalk and looking around.

Rose had been ignoring the feeling for a few minutes, she'd no doubt felt and recognized it long before Sherlock began to detect something was wrong. Of course she'd pick a boyfriend so aware of his surroundings, so in tune to his sense, that he could detect a build up on psychic energy without even knowing what it was.

"Ignore it," Rose insisted, pulling him further away from the alley he was looking down, where she felt the source coming from. She would call UNIT and have someone investigate, she'd train them well enough they could handle it on her night off and if not they would hold the alien off long enough to get Sherlock home safely.

"Somethings wrong with the air," Sherlock dropped her hand and started walking around.

"Sherlock, I want to go home, please lets go," Rose pleaded, but he was determined now, walking around and then back to the entrance of the alley, determining that was where the source had to be.

"Someone is effecting the magnetic field around us, or put a gas in the air or-"

"Or there is a strong psychic alien at the end of this alley emitting enough psychic energy for you to detect it," Rose cut in, rubbing her face while Sherlock snapped his head to her and then back down the alley.

"Theres- How do you know its alien?" Sherlock asked, looking back to her.

"I'm highly familiar with psychic energy, the Doctor had quite a bit floating around him and the TARDIS was composed of some of it. You can only feel it right now because you're senses don't block out each other and because whatever is down there is one of the highly, and therefore older, psychic alien. Now, lets go," Rose took his hand and tried to pull, but Sherlock wouldn't budge when he heard laughter coming from the alley. It was feminine laughter with an echo to it, but there was no gas in the air so Rose couldn't identify the species unless she went down there.

A wave of psychic energy blew down the alley, invisible to the eye, but Rose and Sherlock felt it like it was wind as it blew threw their clothes and seeped into their minds. They'd become mentally connected to the alien, not enough to share memories, but enough to create a communication link.

"Get out of my head," Rose growled into the dark alley. She dropped Sherlock's hand and marched down the alley. Sherlock followed her more hesitantly than she'd expected.

At the end of an alley, as her eyes adjusted to the darker area, Rose saw a humanoid creature she'd never seen before. Obviously female, the alien wore no outer material and it's skin made it look as though the actual body was covered in turquoise gel, with the white eyes standing out following Rose and Sherlock's movements.

"Hello," the voice spoke gently in their minds, but Rose stayed on guard and stood in front of Sherlock, digging into his arm when he tried to move next to her.

"This is a Level Five Planet, what are your intentions," Rose asked aloud, knowing the creature could hear but possibly not speak, hence a high psychic energy.

"Peaceful ones," the alien raised her hands and smiled passively. "I am Gal of the Cyclor species. I've been separated from my family and am looking to go back through the Void."

"I'm sorry," Rose said as gently as she could. "The Void has been sealed off, no one can travel between universes and dimensions anymore. I can find you a safe home on planet Earth, or look into finding you safe passage to your alternate universe planet."

As Rose spoke, Gal grew more and more irritated, rising off the floor and frowning. "You lie, I've just come through the Void and I have to get back!"

"Then you came through during a different time stream, in this one it is closed off, I'm sorry," Rose raised her hands to calm the alien down. "We can find you a home-"

"I don't want a home!" Gal screamed in their heads, behind her Sherlock clutched his head, but Rose only closed her eyes briefly then focused back on Gal. "My whole race needs me, we must work together to win the war, or all of time is going to collapse! The Lords will kill everything to win!"

Rose lowered her hands and stepped forward, Gal's eyes were wide but they flitted to Rose and she felt it when the two of them realized they may be in trouble. "You've escaped the Time War, Gal, there is no way to get back to it now. It's been time locked and the universes have been sealed off."

Gal stepped back, staring at Rose in shock, but she shook herself and smirked. "I will continue the Time War, the Daleks are here in this universe somewhere and I will reunite with them."

"Yeah, you see, I'm not going to let that happen," Rose stepped in front of Sherlock and stared the Cyclor down, finally having the information about the race slip into place. "Because, if you escaped the Time War, you don't know how it ended. And don't you want to know what happened?" Rose grinned wolfishly. "What happened to the Emperor?"

Gal hesitated, staring at Rose. "The Emperor survived, he is immortal," she proclaimed.

"Yeah, until he met me." Rose clinched her fists and tried so hard to find a way to make Sherlock leave before he saw what she was going to do. "I killed him. I ended the Time War. I control the Time Vortex and I pushed it into his, and his whole armies' heads, and turned them to dust with a wave of my hand." Gal stepped back and Rose advanced on her, and as she backed the creature into the wall, Rose blinked her eyes and Bad Wolf stared down at Gal. "The God of all Daleks, and I killed him."

"What are you," Gal whispered, hands over her heart.

"Its written in all of time and space, every creature knows my name, because every creature was allowed life because of me."

"Bad Wolf," Gal whispered, then cried out and pushed harder on her chest, disappearing into energy and evaporating from the air.

She wasn't gone, it was a cheap trick that Cyclors could use to travel far distances without anyone finding them, but it only worked for long, long distances. Gal was no longer on Earth, nor would she be coming back after that performance, but Rose would still inform UNIT about the potential threat to energy blocks if Gal stayed on Earth. As for her finding Daleks, well that would be a problem Rose would handle if it came around.

Rose stayed standing facing the wall and Sherlock remained standing behind her, for the first time since she spoke to Gal, Rose tuned back into the emotions in the room and winced. There was no doubt Sherlock was confused, but fear was fairly high in his emotions as well. They both stood like that, Rose staring at the wall and Sherlock staring at her back, for a good five minutes.

Sherlock was the first to move, Rose closed her eyes as he took hesitant steps forward until he stood next to her and they both stared at the wall. "You never told me how you got the name Bad Wolf." Sherlock spoke softly, hesitantly. Rose didn't think he wanted to know the answer. His emotions kept flitting between confusion, fear, reverence, and shock, the same emotions she'd felt when she'd learned the Doctor was alien, however they'd not been in a romantic relationship at the time so she guessed she couldn't relate to him that much.

"I named myself," Rose spoke, and then gulped when she realized Bad Wolf was still speaking. Sherlock sucked in a breath and looked away from the wall to Rose just as she was blinking the gold out of her eyes.

"You're an alien," Sherlock choked out, stepping away.

"Its complicated, but I promised I'm human, I've been thoroughly tested and I live and I die just like humans. This," Rose blinked Bad Wolf into her eyes and then away because Sherlock was stepping away. "It's just a cheap trick now, a remnant of what I once was."

"Which was alien," Sherlock spoke more assuredly now, a bite to his tone.

"No," Rose bit her lip. Bad Wolf was still very much in the front of her mind, and on any normal day just thinking about when she became connected to the TARDIS and took the Time Vortex in her mind would make Bad Wolf agitated and have her try to force herself into Rose's eyes. "I was a Goddess," Rose blushed at the title she'd never enjoyed, however Bad Wolf reentered her eyes in pride, scaring Sherlock again. "I'm sorry, she's very active right now because we're talking about it so much."

"She?" Sherlock questioned, frowning and narrowing his eyes. "You share your mind with an alien?"

"No," Rose rubbed her eyes free of the golden glow. "No, I am the Bad Wolf, but Bad Wolf is not Rose Tyler. Like I said, it's complicated."

"Then explain it," Sherlock snapped. Rose opened her eyes, trying not to be hurt by his tone, he had a right to be angry that the one person he'd let so close had been hiding something this large from him.

"I've told you about the Daleks before, how the Time Lords fought them and then the Doctor used the Moment, locked the whole war in a time lock, and killed his race. Well there was a fleet of Dalek ships, containing the Emperor of the Daleks, that escaped the time lock and hid in dark space. When the Doctor, Jack and I came upon them, the Doctor sent the TARDIS and I to Earth in 2005 to keep us safe because in 200,100 he had to set off a Delta wave that would kill everything in its radius. I- I was not happy. I wasn't a Time Lord so I didn't have a psychic link with the TARDIS so I couldn't drive her, but I needed to get back to the Doctor, and I'd seen a trick, once, and didn't have anything left to loose." Rose lifted her hands and laid them on her chest, feeling her heartbeat, and feeling a warmness growing inside her mind. It didn't come from Bad Wolf, though she welcomed her as well, it only appeared when Rose sought out her sister and her sister sought her out. "I looked into the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex. I flew back to the year 200,100 to save the Doctor, in the process, I killed all of the Daleks by scattering the atoms and I brought life to Jack who'd been killed."

Sherlock stared at Rose in a mixture of awe and fear, but at the moment, Rose didn't care. She was proud of what she did, and, though she still feared her, Rose loved the Bad Wolf as though she was her other sister. So, because she always spoke the words this way and because she wasn't going to hide herself from Sherlock, Rose blinked and let Bad Wolf explain the rest. "The station we were on was called Bad Wolf corporation. I took the words and I scattered them threw all of time and space as a message to lead myself to the Doctor, to give me hope and serve as a warning. I am the Bad Wolf, I created myself. Goddess of the Time Vortex."

Rose breathed out and the Bad Wolf receded quickly to where she resided in the back of Rose's mind, relinquishing control back to Rose for the first time. Rose stumbled and gasped, almost falling to the floor but Sherlock caught her by her forearm, looking down in worry while Rose frantically reached for the Bad Wolf, ensuring she was okay, that she was there and Rose wasn't alone.

"Rose?!" Sherlock kept calling to her, shaking her and pulling her up straight.

"She's never done that before," Rose whispered, looking vaguely passed Sherlock's shoulder before settling on Sherlock, a wide grin growing. "Oh, she likes you," Rose laughed, both hands on her head in glee.

"What are you talking about?" Sherlock pulled Rose back to him and put his hands over her's that were still holding her head. "Are you okay?"

Rose could see he was frantic, so she calmed down. "Of course, yeah, I'm fantastic," Rose grinned and then quickly leaned forward and kissed him. "So are you, a Goddess and a time machine approves of you."

"What are you talking about? Of course Bad Wolf approves of me, she's you," Sherlock was getting angry again, so Rose really tried to get off her high of happiness.

"No, let me finish the story." Rose shook herself, then took Sherlock's hand and led him out of the alley, talking as they started back on their trip home. "I took the Time Vortex into my head, but, just like my John, I didn't have the capacity to hold everything the Doctor had in his mind and I started to burn. The Doctor saved me by taking the Vortex into his mind, which caused him to regenerate."

"And the eyes is a cheap trick because he couldn't properly save you again," Sherlock remarked, his deep hatred for the man that left Rose in Pete's Universe making itself known.

"It wasn't the Doctor's fault. When I looked into the TARDIS, she looked into me as well, and when the Doctor separated us, she held on the best she could and bonded us as sisters. It is through having some of Bad Wolf still inside me that we can stay bonded, but I am Bad Wolf, but Bad Wolf is not me, so occasionally, like when I was trying to explain without her help, she pushes herself into my eyes. Thats basically all she can do, though with her assistance I have higher healing powers than normal humans."

"The complication at the hospital?" Sherlock asked.

"I told you, my mind didn't agree with my body about dying so Bad Wolf did something about it. She saved me, and has saved me many times before that. However, I'm certain I can die, it's just a little harder." Rose nodded as she spoke, her mind flashing back to the times that Bad Wolf couldn't save her on her own and more assistance had to be given- times that had only happened in Pete's Universe.

"You said I have the TARDIS's approval, so you can communicate with her through the Void?"

Rose tried not to beam at Sherlock for just how much of a genius he is and his ability to keep up with things he'd never learned before. "Occasionally, I can when I'm in my Mind TARDIS, but its sporadic and she can't actually communicate, its more of an assumption of what she is saying by how she makes the ship react." Rose grinned and leaned into Sherlock's shoulder as they walked. "She's my connection to everything back home, and she knows it, so she tries to connect with me as much as possible."

"You love her," Sherlock deduced, though his tone suggested he'd made a more wider deduction.

"Of course, she's my last living relative, my sister." Rose pulled away to look at Sherlock. "I'd give anything to see her again."

Sherlock nodded, and stayed silent a moment, before stopping them in their progress and facing Rose. "That day, in Lestrade's office, what made you run?"

Rose frowned, thinking she'd told him this before. "I thought the TARDIS was in this universe, I ran to the spot that I'd looked into her heart, thinking she would go there. When she wasn't-" Rose choked back the words and gave a small smile. "Bad Wolf connects the two of us now, I thought she sent it as a sign for me."

"And the Doctor?" Sherlock pushed.

"What about him?" Rose asked, playing ignorant as she knew exactly what Sherlock was asking now. As the tension surrounding Sherlock disappeared, Rose stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, grinning into his chest when he did the same. "I don't love him anymore, Sherlock, I- I have you." Rose closed her eyes and pressed her lips into his chest, more to keep words in then to show affection.

"How do you always know what to say," Sherlock asked in reverence as he kissed the top of her head. Rose's eyes popped open.

"Oh, right," Rose leaned back in his arms to look up at him. "I forgot one more thing." Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "The TARDIS is a strong telepath as well as empath, because I'm her sister, I was given a very small amount of her power, so small I don't even notice it sometimes."

"You're physic?" Sherlock's eyes widened comically, Rose could practically see him rethinking every though he'd ever made, causing her to giggle, which only made him freak out more and start to blush.

"No, Sherlock, I can't read your thoughts, I'm an empath, I read emotions." Rose stopped giggling and lifted her hand to his face. "I know when you're happy, when you're doubting yourself, and I know when you hate yourself for having feelings while your brother doesn't because I can feel you hiding your emotions from yourself and from me."

Sherlock continued staring at Rose, but she wasn't worried, because for the first time since she'd become aware of her small power, she felt what it was like to have emotions being sent to you on purpose. Sherlock's happiness, slight weariness, and bewilderedness encompassed her stronger than any feeling she'd ever felt, not in an amplified way like she'd felt his fear in Baskerville had been, but as though it was pure and not muddled by other factors in the air she was sensing. Rose laughed softly and kissed Sherlock.

"You felt it?" Sherlock asked when she pulled away, "I didn't know what I was doing, but that alien, the Cyclor, she'd done something similar with the psychic energy so I assumed-" Rose kissed him again.

"You are truly the most brilliant man I have ever met. You know that, yeah?" Rose laughed happily as Sherlock stood up straighter and smile.

"I just got complimented by a Goddess," Sherlock said, taking her hand and swaggering down the sidewalk, causing Rose to almost collapse in giggles.

"You're fantastic."


	31. Sherlock's Universe

"That there, is Jahoo, right in the middle," Rose stepped away from the telescope so Sherlock could look. "I've never been to that one, its uninhabited, but it was one of the twenty-six planets stolen out of orbit by the Daleks." Rose explained, smiling behind Sherlock's back as he looked up into the sky.

They had the flat to themselves for the first time in weeks and, after some pleasant physical exercise, Sherlock had agreed to learn about space her way. She wasn't boring him with distance, atmospheres, or sizes, but telling him all the planets she recognized and her personal history with them.

"Okay," Sherlock said, stepping away so she could align it to another planet.

"And this is one of my favorites," Rose peaked her head out the window to find the section of space she recognized held the Slitheen's home planet, but couldn't find it. "Bugger, it most be in a different place in this universe." Rose rolled her eyes and started the taxing process of locating a planet.

"That happened to your favorite planet too, Lupus," Sherlock remembered. "In the hospital you said it hadn't died yet where you were from, I thought you were being delirious." Rose chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm always messing up information about which universe I'm in, thats the problem with being from three Londons." Rose didn't pay attention to what she was saying, intent on finding Raxacoricofallapatorius so she could tell that story.

"When did you live in the third universe again?" Sherlock asked.

"Hmm?" Rose looked away from the telescope confused.

"You said the Doctor dropped you off here after the war, but you said you'd lived in three universes." Sherlock frowned, leaning against the desk.

"Oh," Rose bit her lip, she hadn't prepared herself for this conversation. "Well, I didn't say here, actually, I said in Pete's Universe, that's what I called that parallel universe because the difference there was my dad was alive. I came here five years ago through a rip in The Void on accident," Rose danced around the truth, looking back into the telescope to avoid eye contact.

"What do you call this universe?" Sherlock asked.

"Hmm?" Rose asked, not looking away from the sky.

"Rose," Sherlock tugged lightly on her arm. "I know you're trying to keep something from me. You call your home universe the Original Universe, you call the second one Pete's Universe, what do you call this one?"

Rose fiddled with the telescope, glancing up then back down after she briefly met Sherlock's eyes. "Sherlock, you have to understand that my feelings for you are for who you are and no other reason, okay?" Rose told Sherlock, feeling his confusion grow and weariness appear but he wasn't sending them out for her to observe like he'd started doing for her benefit. He was actually trying hard to push his emotions down again.

"What do I have to do with the name of this universe?"

"Because I call it Sherlock's Universe." Sherlock frowned and his forehead creased as he stared at her. For a few minutes, he stared blankly at her, trying to understand what that meant.

"You knew me in the Original Universe," Sherlock deduced. "Did I die like your father?"

"No," Rose stepped away from the telescope and closed the window. "In my universe, there was this famous author in the late seventeenth century who wrote novels about an amazing detective who solved crimes using his superior deduction skills along with his friend Watson."

Sherlock stumbled back into the desk chair and stared up at Rose in horror. Rose was quick to approach him and grasp his chin so he'd focus on her. She stared into his eyes, reading as well as feeling his turmoil and doubt in himself and her.

"Sherlock, listen to me, you are so much more than a character in a book. Those books don't even exist here."

"But they did in the Original Universe," Sherlock croaked out.

"That's just what I call it, I've no idea which universe was the first because the Time Lords use to jump between worlds all the time. Maybe this world was the first, or one of them, but even if it wasn't that doesn't matter. You're still you, no one wrote out your world here, no one has been pulling the strings, just you," Rose promised him, straddling him in the chair and holding his face. "You are the real Sherlock Holmes."

"How do you know that?" Sherlock snapped, jerking his head out of her grasp. "I could just be the result of those books being created, that by creating any book, authors create another universe where the book happens."

"Then why are you in 2012 and not the 1870s?" Rose snapped back. "Why is Moriarty a criminal and not a professor? Why do you turn away boring cases and get along with Lestrade? If you were just like the character, Sherlock, then I wouldn't be here, I would have gotten my heart broken because you would have been just like your brother and been unable to feel human emotions."

"You read the books." That was all Sherlock got out of her speech, making Rose groan and drop her head onto his chest. "Is that why you were interested him me?"

Rose snapped her head up and glared at him, taking a hold of him again and making him look at her. "Listen to me, I started calling it Sherlock's Universe years before I met you, you know that I was in Baskerville for a favor to Mycroft and no other reason. And don't even suggest I started working for Mycroft because he was a character too because you know I only did it to help UNIT and for protection. I'm not here because you're Sherlock Holmes, I've met Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria and didn't fangirl over them. I'm here, with you, because you're you," Rose cupped his cheek. "You're big-headed, ignorant, and irritable. You're thoughtful, caring, and you make me feel like I'm your equal. I didn't fall in love with you because you're Sherlock Holmes, I love you because of who you are, my Sherlock."

Rose leaned forward to kiss Sherlock, but found his hands on her hips and his emotions spinning to a stop. She opened her eyes and saw Sherlock staring wide-eyed at her, his confusion and disbelief double that of what she'd felt while she told him her story. He pushed her off of him and jumped out of the seat, standing next to her and staring, his hands still on her hips.

"Sher-" Rose began, but Sherlock followed her usual tactic and covered her mouth.

"You said you loved me." Sherlock looked back and forth between her eyes, his lips tilted down in concentration. For her part, Rose's face grew red faster than ever and felt she might faint out of embarrassment for such a slip. "Did you mean it?" Rose tried to talk, but Sherlock continued to cover her mouth so all that came out was a muffled excuse. "Did you?"

Rose nodded her head.

"You love me?" Sherlock asked again, dropping his hands to his side and staring at her. "Me?"

Rose nodded her head again, biting her lip. He was pushing down his feelings again and she was in the dark with no clue how to act.

It all escaped with a burst of a laugh from his lips, then suddenly the apartment was glowing with happiness.

"Ha-ha!" Sherlock bursted, grabbing Rose's hips and pulling her up so she straddled his waist while he stood. "I love you, Rose Tyler," Sherlock declared, crushing his lips against hers and leading them to his bedroom.

"You love me?" Rose repeated when Sherlock pulled away, both of them still grinning like children.

"I love you," Sherlock answered, laying them both down on the bed. "I love you."


	32. Torchwood

Xo0o0o0o0oX

They lay tangled in sheets, Rose's golden hair was a matted nest Sherlock had tried and failed to comb threw with his fingers and now it lay across his stomach while Rose looked up at him from where her head lay on his chest: Sherlock held Rose close into his side, running his fingers down her spine while she ran hers down his chest. There was a content smile on both of their lips as their heart beats calmed down. Sherlock was doing everything he could to keep the woman he loved happy right now, however his fingers kept tracing scars on her back instead of making their own circles.

"Will you ever tell me?" Sherlock whispered, locking eyes with Rose's as her smile slipped. Sherlock worked to send his still present bliss towards her, hoping it worked because even though she said she could tell when he did, it was a lot of mental work he didn't completely understand, nor could he tell the difference between having emotions and sending them.

"You know enough already," Rose whispered back. They still had the apartment to themselves, but she was grasping the hand not on her back tightly, holding everything left she hid from him back.

In the past month, Sherlock had been given nearly all of the puzzle pieces to Rose's past, and while it was disappointing that he had been nowhere near the truth, it'd made them closer. No longer did Sherlock fear her past and no longer did she fear he'd leave her when he found out or when he solved her puzzle. Of course, when he wasn't around Rose, Sherlock admitted to himself that the whole situation was insane, not that he didn't trust her unconditionally, he'd been given evidence recently after all, but it was still insane. He never let her know that some of her past freaked him out though because she loved to be able to share it with him -except for this. She could talk for hours about the man that broke her heart, about the battles she'd been in, and about the man she'd loved then nursed till his death, but she never broached the subject of her time in captivity.

"I don't know anything, Rose," Sherlock moved his hand over all the scars on her back, then up to her shoulders. "Bad Wolf may have made them heal and fade more than anyone could have hoped for, but I know these scars, Rose, what kind of activities cause them," Rose winced at a memory, then pushed up from the bed, taking the sheets with her. She sat on the edge of the bed looking away from him, but Sherlock grabbed his boxers and kneeled in front of her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Rose reminded him, allowing him to take her hands as her eyes shinned with unshed tears. "Please, Sherlock, don't ruin tonight."

"I'm not trying to, don't tell me right now, don't even tell me in the morning," Sherlock stood up and picked Rose up, pushing them back towards the pillows. "But soon, okay?"

"Sherlock, I can't," Rose didn't try to escape again, but curled into his side, not hiding her head but tucking it into his neck. He felt her tears drip from her skin to his then to the sheets.

"I love you, Rose," he reminded her. He smiled when her lips moved into one as well against his shoulder.

"I love you too," Rose whispered.

"I'm going to kill everyone who marred your body, just tell me what happened and you don't have to be scared anymore," Sherlock vowed into her hair.

Rose rose her head smiling with tears running past her lips. "Thank you, but I'm not scared, Sherlock, they're all dead."

"You?" Sherlock asked, brushing away the teardrops. Rose shook her head, sighing deeply, then pushing up so she leaned against a pillow next to him, both of them moved to prop their heads up with their hands.

"When did I come to Your Universe?"

"Five years ago," Sherlock answered, realizing he would have never been able to kill the people who did this to her if they were in the other universe. "How did you go through the rip? How did you find it?"

"Bad Wolf," Rose whispered, eyes flashing gold so fast he wouldn't have noticed if he didn't know it happened every time she mentioned the Goddess that shared her mind. "She'd been looking for an escape for two years, and when she found a rip that was set to open and heal itself quickly, she pulled me threw and killed anyone that would try to follow me, which was all of Torchwood."

"Torchwood did that to you?!" Sherlock moved further up. "You worked for them." Rose shook her head and more tears fell, Sherlock collapsed back on the bed. He was too curious for his own good, needed answers to his questions when this wasn't the time. "I'm sorry, you're right, not tonight." Sherlock pulled her to him and held her as she calmed down.

Eventually, Rose fell asleep, but Sherlock couldn't turn his brain off. He felt as though he'd been given enough information about Rose, enough that he may be able to finish the puzzle without her spelling everything out. He was fine that Rose had been the one to solve everything about her for him, but it did hurt his ego a bit. It wasn't just about solving her though, on this topic it'd never been, this was about understanding who she was and why she woke up screaming on some nights. Sherlock realized that he had to stop being lazy when it came to solving Rose's puzzle, he couldn't make her tell her the end of her case, that was his job.

Sherlock started with Rose's complicated timeline. She was thirty, she'd been dropped off in Pete's Universe the first time when she was twenty, two years later she went to and from the Original Universe, starting her life with John Noble at twenty-two. A bit over a year after that John Noble died, making her twenty-three. Sometime after that her family died as well, and then she was held captive and tortured for about two years, till Bad Wolf took her to this universe.

Sherlock shook his head, Mycroft had guessed six months. Two Years.

But why? Torchwood was an agency similar to UNIT, they dealt with aliens, why would they keep and torture Rose.

Sherlock couldn't think straight, he was too angry and needed to be here with Rose and not in his Mind Palace. There was something staring him right in the face, a reason people who worked for her would turn on her, but with a deep sigh from Rose or a shift in her position, Sherlock got distracted. Eventually, he followed Rose into a fitful sleep.

000000000000

She woke as she always did when they turned the blaring lights on, huddle in the corner of her cell, most, if not all of her wounds from the previous day closed and scabbing over already. She stared, blinking unseeingly towards the door trying to make out who would be with her today, they were all brutal, heartless monsters, but that didn't mean she didn't have a favorite among them.

It was Dr. Lewis, and Rose did everything not to sob at the sight.

"Hello, Wolf," He greeted. None of them would call her by her name, it made her seem too human for their consciousness, so they enticed her with her second name. "Get up," He ordered, purposely grabbing her recently broken wrist and dragging her from her cell, into the dark hallway then into the bright lab room.

Placed in the middle of the perfectly square, empty room, was her chair.

"Please," Rose whispered. "You know me, you know I'm human! Please!" Rose always grew more and more hysterical the closer she came to the chair.

"Shut up," Dr. Lewis snapped, hitting her across the face so that her head snapped in the other direction. Rose whimpered, but after a day like yesterday, she didn't have the strength to fight back. They knew that, it was why they always sent Dr. Lewis in on her bad days. He was willing to go farther than any of them, but she would fight back if she hadn't been broken in well enough the day before. It didn't help that they'd played blazingly loud music in her cell every time the cameras showed she was falling asleep.

Dr. Lewis practically threw her into the chair, then started tying her down, his hands lingering too long at her ankles, making her squirm. Torchwood had one redeeming quality, rape was illegal against all beings, and she begged every night it stayed that way.

"How fast can you heal, Wolf?" Dr. Lewis sneered, pulling over a trolley of torture devices he loved to use. "Will you heal slower if there is more to heal at once?"

He always did this, spoke his hypothesis aloud so she knew what to fear. Rose silently cried, "Please."

"I said shut up!" Dr. Lewis yelled, grabbing a knife and cutting her side. Rose bit her tongue to keep the scream inside, he hated when she made noise. "Thats a good pup." Immediately, the deep cut illuminated with golden energy, but Rose was too exhausted to care. "Think you're okay just because you started healing early, do yeah? Thats not what I'm looking for today, lovely." He stepped away so that Rose's strapped down head couldn't track his movements, then returned with two familiar wires that Rose couldn't keep from whimpering at at the sight. He slapped her with his belt for the sound, slicing open her cheek.

Rose tightly closed her eyes, waiting for him to attach it to the metal bar going across her forehead, to hear his rank breath breathing into her ear for too long as he whispered promises of what he would do to her when finally no one is looking. She'd cried for her sister to save her before that day came, for either of her sisters to find her a way out of this. Give her the smallest openings, the smallest chance of escape, and Rose swore to her sisters she would take it no matter the cost.

She never got a reply, and she was still here, two years later.

The clink of two metal clips attaching to her headpiece never came, instead they came from lower, from the piece closest to her heart and then the clamp around her thigh. "Lets start at 200, shall we, Wolf?" Dr. Lewis taunted.

"What?" Rose opened her eyes, looking at the man in his white lab coat, greasy black hair that matched his greasy smile. They never started at 200 volts, that was where he ended. Always, she could rely on that. More than 200 and they didn't know how much power she could take from it or how badly her body would react to where they no longer had a test subject.

"Excuse me?" He leaned over her, bracing both hands by her head and leaning his whole body against her strapped in one. She closed her eyes, tugging against the restraints. "I don't believe you have permission to talk." His breath fanned her face, and she could do nothing about it. Tears dropped down from the corners of her eyes, and she knew with absolute certainty, any part of her still alive was dying today. "Did I not say shut up, Wolf?" Rose bit the inside of her cheek to hold in a sob. "I asked you a question," he struck her again. "Open your eyes, damnit!" He grabbed a knife and cut both sides of her shirt. "No ones behind those cameras, little pup." Rose released a sob, still keeping her eyes closed. Dr. Lewis grabbed her chin firmly, leaving a bruise.

"Stop, please," Rose whispered, then shrieked when he moved off her and plunged the knife into her thigh. Still, she kept her eyes closed. She couldn't look at him, didn't want to know what the rustling of fabric meant.

"You will be quiet, or I'll kill you. No one can stop me today." Rose heard his hand slam onto something, and registered what it was a millisecond before her body was shocked. She screamed as loud and as long as her lungs would allow it, her body trying to cower away from the source of the shock, writhing against her restraints, but to no avail.

"Thats what I like to hear!" Dr. Lewis cheered, taking his hand off the blasted button. She felt him return to leaning against her. He hummed, "so hot and sweaty." He moved away, flicked a switch, then slammed his hand back down, upping the voltage by fifty, to an amount she'd never felt before.

"NO!" Rose screamed, finally opening her eyes, golden light pouring out of them. "No more!" Rose watched through Bad Wolf's eyes as everything in the room turned to dust, atoms of her chair, of the devices used to torture her, all of it was destroyed, leaving Bad Wolf and Dr. Lewis alone in the room. "I am not Wolf, I am not little Pup. I am the Bad Wolf."

With a wave of her hand and a scream from the man, Bad Wolf killed everyone who'd harmed Rose Tyler. For her part, Rose felt herself glowing, was aware of things happening, but her body was dying and she closed her eyes as Bad Wolf tore through a rip in the Void and they leapt into a new Universe.

"Please," Rose begged as she felt Bad Wolf receding.

00000000000

"Rose, wake up, please!" Sherlock shook her, begging for her beautiful brown eyes to stare back at him when she opened her eyes.

He knew why she'd been held now, had seen something he could easily imagine weaker men wanting to harvest for themselves, but that didn't matter. What mattered was by asking questions he had brought up such a horrible nightmare for the woman that he loved, that she'd screamed, thrashed all night without waking up to his calls and shaking, until one moment, she started glowing.

He'd clung to her then, whispering that he loved her in his ear, begging Bad Wolf to let her come back to him, to wake her up so he could help. Sherlock had held his Goddess in his arms, the golden light coming from her warming him uncomfortably, but he hadn't took notice.

"Rose, I love you, please wake up," Sherlock begged as the light finally receded.

"Sherlock," Rose whispered, her arms moving around in search of him. He grasped her hand and raised it to his lips.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," Sherlock whispered back, letting out a sigh as her eyelids opened and beautiful brown eyes settled on him.

Tears filled in her eyes as she pulled him back down from where he was hovering over her. Just like that, it all came out. How Torchwood killed her family to get to her once they knew John Noble couldn't stop them, how she was taken, what they did to her every day, and how she escaped. Sherlock held her, cried with her for some of it, and listened as she finally told someone about what happened to her. Sherlock didn't ask questions, he didn't need to anymore, and he didn't push for more information than she gave, he already knew it all now, there was nothing she could tell him that he didn't know.

Afterwards, the sun started to rise but they stayed in bed till well after breakfast, whispering and holding each other.

By the time Rose found the strength to get out of his bed and into the shower, Sherlock had already decided. There was nothing in this world, this universe, or any other universe, that would convince him to leave this woman. He'd never considered marriage before, but as he lay in bed, watching Rose disappear into his bathroom, he felt he could grow old with her.

At the thought, and all of Rose's troubles still weighing heavily on his mind, Sherlock, for the very first time in his life, was determined to grow old. He just didn't know if Earth was big enough to hold her. If she got the chance, he knew Rose would return to the stars.


	33. Familiar Situation

The console room of the TARDIS was silent as they finally touched down, and remained in the area long enough for Amy, Rory, and the Doctor to get up off the floor. Rory was checking on Amy, as they'd been thrown around quiet roughly, while the Doctor ran to the screen to look around.

"This isn't possible," he repeated for the umpteenth time.

"What isn't?" Rory asked, helping Amy up and walking with her to look at the screen. But it was blank.

"Whys it like that, Doctor?" Amy asked, trying to read the Doctor's horrified face, but he kept moving too quickly to settle, running his hands along the TARDIS with what looked like worry.

"We fell out of the Vortex," the Doctor said, more serious than anyone in the room had heard him. The TARDIS hummed. "Through the void, into nothingness, but-" The Doctor twirled around. "The TARDIS gets her energy from the Vortex, without it she shouldn't be living. There is something out there she is feeding off of."

"What?" Rory asked, him and Amy glancing at the door. The TARDIS was considering flinging it open and spooking them, but she was already having too much fun.

"I don't know, we're in some kind of no-place. There could be anything out there," The Doctor said, finally grinning and hurrying towards the door.


	34. Greetings From Earth

Rose sat on the ground of Sherlock's apartment with John, papers spread out in front of them that they were desperately trying to make sense of. Sherlock was in the kitchen going through an experiment while occasionally glancing into the room to see how their progress was going. They weren't working on a case, well they were but Sherlock had solved it years ago and he'd brought it out to stump Rose who'd been skipping around the past day because she was finally two cases in front of Sherlock in their race to solve cases the fastest.

John had agreed to look over it with her, he hadn't been flatmates with Sherlock at the time so it was a new case for him as well. They'd been staring at all the information Sherlock had given them for a hour, occasionally hollering into the kitchen to ask a question or offer a solution.

Rose groaned as she rubbed her face, the pieces finally fitting in and she felt like she'd just wasted her whole afternoon. "Sherlock Holmes, you said this was a real case."

"Its a plausible case," Sherlock replied, not sticking his head around to see John stare incredulously in the direction of the kitchen.

"Did you give us an unsolvable case just to spite Rose?" John asked, annoyed.

"No, he actually made a case where the victim did it," Rose complained, falling backwards to lean against the couch while John hopped up and started to complain to Sherlock.

"The rules are wrong!" Sherlock complained back, both of them going at it again while Rose closed her eyes and smiled, listening to what had become her domestic bliss. She didn't even know why she paid for the flat downstairs, it was covered in dust and she'd made her bed two weeks ago and hadn't so much as sat on it since. But she was waiting for a cue from Sherlock.

Rose frowned as Sherlock and John's argument got louder as they entered the living room- she had heard something. "Hold on," Rose said, but neither of the boys heard her. But it was getting louder, the sound of wind far off, starting to get more localized. "Oi, shut up," Rose snapped, standing from the ground and looking out the window.

"What?" Sherlock snapped back, but John looked out the window as well.

It wasn't the sound of wind anymore, well it was but there was the sound of metal added to it as well. The sound of the universe.

"Is that a leaf blower? Bit early isn't it?" John asked, both him and Sherlock moving to the window.

Rose felt a giggle bubble up inside her and burst out as she jumped up and ran through the flat, down the stairs and out the door. "Rose?" John hollered behind her, him and Sherlock hurrying to follow.

Rose ran like no other, looking everywhere, listening to it getting louder and more precise. She stopped, John and Sherlock almost tumbled into her, and started spinning around, looking up at the sky and around the street. "Whats that sound?" John asked, Sherlock tried to get Rose's attention, but Rose was too focused on listening and looking.

There. She watched, at the corner of Baker St. a blue police box coming in and out of focus for a moment and then settling. "Oh my god!" John gasped, looking around but no one had been watching, no one ever watched. "Did you- Sherlock, you saw that right? Rose?"

Rose blocked John's wonderings out, staring down the street at the TARDIS in shock and awe. She was here, he was here. "Is that..?" Sherlock asked.

"Yeah," Rose nodded.

"Are you okay?" He asked, stepping up beside her and peering down at her face, but she couldn't take her eyes off her sister. Rose started slowly walking towards the TARDIS, not paying any attention to John's whispered questions to Sherlock, but her smile grew when she heard Sherlock answer, "Rose has a sister, thats her."

"Inside a police box that appeared out of nowhere," John sounded skeptical, but no one replied as they stopped in front of the door and stared up at it.

Rose gently placed her hand on the door, and felt the TARDIS hum in greeting. Rose choked out a smile, and started slowly running her hands along the door, then walking around it, taking in the bluest blue Rose had ever seen the TARDIS wear, and all the new scratches and the loss of the old ones. When Rose found herself standing at the back of the TARDIS, she heard the door open.

"Oh," A voice said, one she didn't recognize but didn't have to as he continued talking. "Well, it looks like London. Whys it always London we end up at, huh? So many cleaner places in the multi-universe, but nope everything seems to flock to London." Rose leaned against the side of the TARDIS to listen to this new Doctor talk, wondering if he was new, or if he was simply a very old Doctor who wouldn't remember this encounter when they met later in his life time.

"We know where we are," Sherlock interrupted the Doctor. "We only need to know what you're doing here." There was a sharp edge to Sherlock's tone, but Rose didn't blame him, he hated the Doctor on her account, but he also saw the Doctor as her ex-boyfriend and she would have expected nothing else.

"Oh, well I'm the Doctor and inside are my two companions Rory and Amy," Rose turned the corner of the TARDIS and got a look at this new Doctor before he turned and noticed her. He was wearing a bowtie of all things, still wearing a nice suit but with fancy shoes that didn't look comfortable to run in. His shoulders were tensed, no doubt from the TARDIS bringing him to another universe. "We're travelers you see, and just stopped by here on.. acc..ident…"

Then he turned as he was talking to take in the new comer, but stuttered to a stop when he saw her. She saw recognition and then felt his disbelief and sadness as he made the connection that this was a new universe and it was a copy of her, not the real her. He physically shook himself, but it was already enough, she knew this was an older version of her Doctor, and he still remembered her.

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself to her in a more hoarse voice than what he started with.

"I know," she replied, their eyes meeting and locking.

"Wait," John said, but they didn't look away from each other even though Rose felt Sherlock's eyes piercing into the side of her face and could predict John looking between the three of them and drawing a quick conclusion. "The Doctor, Rose's Doctor?"

The Doctor turned away from Rose with a big goofy grin at that title, but Rose turned to look at Sherlock and then John, knowing that even though he'd just seen a box appear out of nowhere, John always had his priorities straight. So, it didn't surprise Rose when her surrogate brother smiled, lifted his arm and swung at the Doctor, hitting him square in the jaw and sending him against the TARDIS's doorframe.

"Oi!" A feminine voice cried out in the TARDIS.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor's companions, Rory and Amy, ran down the steps and out the door, Rory going to check on the Doctor and the redheaded Amy moving towards John with a murderous expression. Rose sidestepped in front of the woman, John looking ready to fight but she knew he would never throw a punch at a woman, while this red head was willing to inflict serious damage on him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Amy yelled in Rose's face. "You can't just attack people like that!"

"Do not talk to her like that." Sherlock stepped up beside Rose, but then the other companion, Rory who was wearing a band on his finger to match Amy's, got up from the ground next to a complaining Doctor and stood next to Amy.

"Don't talk to her like that either!" Rory yelled, puffing out his chest in a way that was fairly unimpressive to Sherlock and Rose.

"Amy, Rory, just calm down," The Doctor said, pulling himself up to stand.

"Oi," John said pointing at the Doctor. "You, shut up."

"Don't tell him to shut up, you're the one that attacked him!" Amy shouted at John, moving around Rose quickly and pushing him in the chest.

Amy's husband grabbed her arm and pulled him over to where the Doctor stood off to the side. Sherlock moved to John's side all while the temperamental redhead was cussing out John, which had the Doctor yelling at her. Rose stood, next to the entrance into the TARDIS, looking at the chaos and trying to find a way to ease all of the emotions in the air that were giving her a headache, but then, inside the TARDIS, she heard the rotor go up and down.

Rose looked behind her, seeing the bright lights of the TARDIS, and without a second thought, stepped inside the ship and let the doors close and lock behind her. The TARDIS put up a silent shield so that they were alone and couldn't hear or feel what was going on outside. She didn't doubt someone was banging on that door, but if a whole fleet of Daleks couldn't get in then the four humans and a time lord would have to wait till the TARDIS wanted them inside.

Rose slowly walked towards the console, grinning madly and looking around at the new design. The glass floors, new stairs leading up and down and circles all around the wall. But the control panel, with all the confusing buttons and stray wires, was still just as messy. "You beautiful, brilliant girl," Rose whispered, grasping the railing. "I missed you." The whole TARDIS grew warm and Rose closed her eyes at the embrace.

o0o0o0o0o

John and Amy both stopped arguing when the door to the Police Box closed and Rose was left inside of it, Sherlock and the Doctor didn't move, but Rory, Amy, and John all started banging on the door, John calling to see if she was okay, Amy banging on the door to get the hell out of there, and Rory just trying to open the door. While they did that, Sherlock and the Doctor stared at one another.

Sherlock read the Doctor to the best of his abilities, relying heavily on the deductions he made but didn't know how he made them. The man was old, much older than he looked, and dangerous, especially since he saw Rose. There was a possessiveness about him that had Sherlock worrying about how far he would go to try to keep Rose with him now that he found her.

John turned away from the Police Box and glared at the Doctor, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you." Amy and Rory stopped banging on the door to turn and watch the scene. John joined Sherlock facing the Doctor, all of them no doubt quite the scene to any one passing by.

"I'd never hurt Rose," the Doctor said defensively, frowning when Sherlock and John gave a dry chuckle. "How is she even here?" He asked.

John frowned, letting Sherlock answer, luckily holding in his own many questions until the situation calmed down and Rose joined them. "You lost the right to know when you left her behind, now get out of my Universe and leave us alone." Sherlock stepped up to the Doctor, but the man with his silly bow tie and dangerous eyes didn't back down.

"You don't know what you're talking about, how do I even know you're not hurting her? Where is the meta-crisis, why isn't he with here?" the Doctor snapped, accusation clear in his voice.

"His name was John Noble, and he died when his brain burned because you couldn't be bothered to give him a second thought except to leave a potentially dangerous person with Rose so she could fix your problem. You couldn't spare her a long enough thought to consider her wellbeing and happiness." That had the talkative man finally shutting up.

Sherlock stared the Doctor down as he deflated at the news that the man he left to give Rose her happy ending had ended up giving her another broken heart. However, the Doctor's redhead bulldog who had yet to learn her place stood up to speak for the Doctor.

"Oi!" Amy jumped forward and poked Sherlock in the chest, probably thinking he was a gentleman and would move back for her, but he just stared at her. "You don't know who you're talking to, this is the Doctor."

Sherlock flicked his eyes up and down. "And you're his, what, cheerleader? Ego booster, reminder that even though he is hundreds of years old, he can still regenerate into a body that turns you on?" Amy gasped and took a step backwards. "I'm getting a lot of daddy problems from this one, what did you do growing up, strip? No, don't have the arm muscles for that, must have been a kissogram then because you're from the upper class so whore wouldn't have done well. Then you marry that one, just so people ignore how early you lost your virginity and you can say you were high school sweethearts. Now, you drag him a long on trips with the man you're obsessed with and think you're his favorite person in the whole multi-universe, when in reality you're one of a long line of girls he's made feel special and then left them behind the first chance he got." Sherlock barley got the last sentence out before the red head raised her hand and slapped him. He barely flinched, he'd been slapped so many times by easily offended people, that only Rose's smack made him move.

The TARDIS door opened and Rose stood in the doorway, staring at Amy's still raised hand in a way that had the redhead dropping it quickly and stepping away from Sherlock. Behind her, Sherlock looked into the ship that held the consciousness of Rose's sister, and was impressed by the dimension in there and the very complex looking controls to fly her, but he also noticed the bright lights and warm air flowing around Rose which the ship must be able to control, and was controlling to show her support for her sister.

"Amelia Pond," Rose spoke eerily, he didn't hear Bad Wolf in her voice, but recognized the struggle behind her eyes and it had him smiling that all three parts of Rose were on his side. He thought, if he fought hard enough, maybe she wouldn't leave him for the stars. "If you raise a hand to him again, you loose it." Rose turned to John and Sherlock. "Both of you need to greet guests to your Earth better next time," she scolded them then looked to the Doctor, steeping out of the doorway and towards the alien.

"Rose?" Doctor whispered, staring at Rose in disbelief despite Sherlock confirming that it was in fact the right Rose from the right Universe.

"You changed again," she said, standing nearly toe to toe with him and frowning.

"Tried not to," he quipped. "How do I look?" He grinned and twirled around while Rose just looked on. "Still got the hair."

"Not really," Rose deadpanned. "And a bowtie? Honestly?"

"Hey, bowties are cooler than leather jackets, eh?" He said. Sherlock watched the fully grown man tap around on his shoes like a child with something in his pants, but Rose's lips started to tilt upwards. "Was that a smile?" The Doctor asked, a hint of seriousness and nostalgia in his voice.

"No," Rose looked away then back, like a shy, flirty teenager and Sherlock scowled but still found himself shoving his emotions down so she didn't feel his anger.

"That was a smile."

"No, it wasn't.

"You smiled," The Doctor sung.

"No, I didn't."

Then Rose grinned brightly and the Doctor grinned back and the next moment Sherlock was watching them embrace, taking a step back as though he'd taken a blow to the stomach. John laid a hand on his shoulder to help him keep standing, both keeping an eye on the man who had left Rose broken, but had showed her the stars.

o0o0o0o0o

Rose sighed as the Doctor wrapped his arms around her, taking in the smell of her universe that clung to him. Rose had missed him, almost as much as she missed her sister. She would always miss him. She felt his happiness and all the adoration that he had for her. Rose knew the Doctor had loved her, but would never admit it, and she felt the residual feelings stirring inside of him. She thought it would make her heart soar, but she felt her smile behind his back turn sad, feeling true sympathy for this man who may still love her.

She was getting a chance to hug him, but she also thought about everything that happened, things that happened since she got stranded in Pete's Universe the first time and she never got time to tell him because he took her back and left her without asking what she wanted. Yes, she loved John Noble, and she loved Sherlock just as much and wouldn't change anything because of how happy she was now, but still, she was given a chance to tell him.

Rose pulled out of the hug, stepping away from the Doctor and taking in his grinning face, then raised her hand and slapped him with all her might, putting years of heartache and mourning behind it because he did that to her.

"Ow!" The Doctor's face snapped to the side and he staggered backwards, he cradled his face and looked up at her with an even younger, bigger puppy eyes than she'd ever seen him wear. "What was that for?"

"You left me on that bloody beach!" She yelled at him.

"Yeah, but you had Handy," the Doctor argued, wriggling his hand and trying to get her to smile, but she slapped his other cheek just as hard.

"His name was John Noble, and being human was the best thing that could have happened to him because he finally realized how much of an arse he was to all the companions he kept leaving," Rose shrieked at the Doctor, getting up in his face.

The Doctor looked down at her and his face dropped, reading the pain she wasn't telling him and seeing that he did that to her, she didn't doubt he was taking more blame than he was due, but for once, she was going to let him. He'd taken too many choices away from too many people, he was going to be remorseful for once.

"I know, Rose I'm so sorry for leaving you like that, truly I am." The Doctor took her hand and pled for her to forgive him. "I'll do anything to gain your forgiveness, I'll leave right now if you never want to see me again, Rose."

Rose shook her head and smiled a small smile, "I forgave you a long time ago, Doctor," She said, because it was the truth. "You just needed to hear it." The Doctor grinned and nodded, still a lingering sadness around him that Rose was going to let him deal with, she didn't need to be the one to reassure him he was a good man anymore.

Apparently, he had a redhead for that, because when Amy saw the Doctor trying to regain his composure, she brought the attention back to herself and off the Doctor by asking, "Why did you lock yourself in the TARDIS?"

"And how?" Rory added with a much nicer tone than his wife. He seemed far more interested in her, and less angry, than Amy was.

"I didn't, she did that. We just wanted to greet each other and she wanted a private audience," Rose answered, turning away from the time travelers towards her boys, who were both watching her apprehensively, but she grinned at them both and reached for their hands. "She wants a proper introduction with my brother and boyfriend." Rose pulled them towards the door, looking at both of them to take in their reactions, mainly watching John as she'd prepared Sherlock for the extra dimension.

"She?" John asked, looking at Rose and trying to read her, but she motioned for him to look into the TARDIS. He turned away from her then stopped moving and stepped back, standing in the doorway and looking around the outside of the TARDIS.

"Whatcha think?" Rose asked, grinning as John stepped back inside the TARDIS and both of her boys took it all in.

"It's bigger on the inside," John marveled, all three of them taking slow steps to look around, the Doctor, Amy and Rory followed them inside. Rose looked to Sherlock who looked around very impressed, then felt her eyes on him and looked down to smile at her.

"She's as beautiful as her sister," he complimented, both her and the TARDIS beamed at him.

"Woah," John said when the lights grew brighter than dimmed back to the normal amount. "Who did that?" He asked Rose.

"She did," Rose motioned towards the rotor. "This is the TARDIS, John."

"How…?" John turned to Sherlock, and Rose grinned when she felt Sherlock's confidence spike at being able to answer a question like this one.

"Its another dimension," Sherlock explained."

"How do you know that?" The Doctor asked, stepping up to the controls.

Rose lifted her hand and waved, "That'd be me," she turned to John and shrugged. "Sorry, John, Mycroft only gave me clearance to tell Sherlock, but now that you've seen it I get to tell you everything too," Rose grinned while John frowned in confusion, still not being able to take his eyes off the size of the control room.

"Sherlock said I was going to meet your sister," John pointed out, sounding like he was starting to grasp it all. It was always easier to explain when they had it all in front of them, which was why Rose was glad she didn't have to stumble through another explanation about her true past.

"Yup," Rose popped, "John, meet the TARDIS, Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

The rotor started up then stopped in greeting and John's eyes widened. "It's alive?" He asked, and she nodded.

"You're pretty quick," the Doctor grinned at John, forgetting all hostile that had happened before since the TARDIS and Rose trusted him. John glared at him.

"My boys are the smartest in the universe," Rose intervened, grinning at Sherlock and John.

Rose dropped John's hand and pulling Sherlock up to the controls, placing his hand on the railing. She watched his reaction, knowing her sister was letting him feel the cold railing and then warming it under his hand. He didn't disappoint, he furrowed her eyebrows, waiting, and then when he was greeted, he turned to her and beamed.

"Can you tell her I said hello back," he asked, and Rose laughed.

"She can hear you," Rose assured him. She turned away and looked at the rest of the room, not surprised to see everyone watching her.

"Did you say sister?" Rory asked, looking at Rose in a new light and a bit more wariness.

"Yup," Rose said, reaching up and running her hand across the rotor.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked. Rose looked at him and noticed he was a lot more intuitive than first glance, she smiled at him, seeing that being with the Doctor was bringing out the genius in him like it'd done for her and Mickey.

"I mean the two of us bonded while I was traveling with the Doctor and now we're connected so I call her my sister."

"Connected?" The Doctor asked, stepping forward. "What do you mean? When did this happen?"

"Well, I assume at Game Station Five but I didn't notice it until we were separated and I realized I could still sense her presence." Rose shrugged, not wanting the Doctor to look too much into this, worried he would think it was dangerous and try to take it out of her.

She walked around the console so he wasn't staring right at her and glanced at Sherlock, who raised an eyebrow, wondering about Bad Wolf. Rose shook her head ever so slightly and continued around the controls, Amy appearing in front of her and narrowing her eyes at her but Rose side stepped the red head and kept mousing around the TARDIS.

"When did she change the design?" Rose asked the Doctor, hopping up on the railing where the captains chair use to be, grinning as the Doctor, his companions and her boys came to stand in front of her.

"I repressed my regeneration the last time for a longer time than I should have and when I finally let it go, I sort of set the TARDIS on fire," The Doctor explained, grinning sheepishly. "That's when I met Amelia," he hopped over to Amy and threw his arm around her shoulder. Rose noted his tendency to touch more had grown even more in this body, and from the looks of Rory, he did it mainly to Amy.

Rose wanted to ask what happened to cause the regeneration, but knew each of his deaths were a sensitive conversation, and there was a chance his companions hadn't been completely briefed on regeneration, so she refrained. Instead, she only nodded in response, glancing to Sherlock and John, before grinning madly at the Doctor and jumping down.

"God, Mum would kill me if she saw my manners today. First, I let John punch you, then I leave you to deal with the aftermath as I lock myself in your home, and then I slap you, twice, and invite myself and my friends back into the TARDIS without any proper introduction!" Rose exclaimed with a laugh, bouncing to her spot between Sherlock and John. The Doctor was smiling at her but seemed intrigued to know more about her own companions.

"Doctor," Rose said, failing to keep her excitement in even with Sherlock's hesitation and John's confusion growing in the air around her. "This," She took John's arm and hooked hers around it. "Is my best friend, Doctor John Watson." She grinned at John, glancing at the Doctor to see his frown, then dropped John's arm and just moved into Sherlock's side, grinning up at him when he wrapped his arm around her waist without any indication that that was what she wanted. "And this is my boyfriend, Sherlock Homes." Rose leaned back into Sherlock and waited, grinning at the three from her universe as their eyes grew wider and they stared at Sherlock in awe, even the Doctor.

The Doctor jumped up, his eyes dazzling and his grin taking up nearly his whole face. "Ha!" He exclaimed, bouncing forward and grasping Sherlock's free hand. "What a pleasure, seriously, this-" He turned around to Amy and Rory, Amy was staring wide-eyed and looking at Rose in a new light and Rory was blatantly gaping. "Sherlock Holmes!" The Doctor exclaimed to his companions, who walked closer as well.

"Your Universe indeed," Amy offered a hand to shake, while Rory went to John, looking at him oddly. Rose grinned, she could feel the click in the air between the two men, similar to what John and her had when she first met him in Baskerville. Another man who had to listen to a mad genius all the time.

"John Watson," Rory offered his hand and grinned. "I always thought you were the real brains of the whole thing, but the Doctor doesn't agree."

"I'm sorry," John didn't take the hand, and stepped back from everyone crowding him. If Sherlock could have, he would have taken the attention John was trying to deflect. "Have we met you three? Or do you read my blog?"

"A blog! The modern auto-biography!" The Doctor exclaimed with a laugh.

"John," Rose spoke softly, stepping away from Sherlock who was being bombarded by questions from Amy who turned out to be an avid reader. "Can you guess where I'm from now that you've seen the TARDIS and the Doctor?" She tried to get him to come to the conclusion, it was always easier to explain if they made the first jump.

"Space?" John glanced around nervously looking Rose up and down.

"I'm not alien, John," Rose laughed, "but you're right I'm not from this Earth, I'm from another Earth."

"In another universe," John concluded. "Thats why Sherlock told them to get out of this universe, they're from you're original one." Rose nodded. "And him and I are famous there?" John scrunched his face up at the thought.

"Sort of," Rose nodded. "There, you're characters in a series of classic books from the 1800s." Rose bit her lip as she unloaded that on her friend.

John's shoulder's dropped and he rolled his eyes. "Of course," he muttered then pointed at Sherlock. "Of course you had books written after you."

"I didn't do it," Sherlock complained. Rory, Amy, and the Doctor all stepped back to watch in awe. "It's in another universe, and apparently it was your character who wrote them, so its just like the blog."

"I'm in it too?" John groaned, falling against the railing in a sigh.

"So is Mary," Amy piped up with a grin. Rose threw her a scathing glare for her insensible comment.

"Theres a Mary?" John opened his eyes and grinned. "With me?"

"They're just books, John," Rose pointed out, glaring at Amy before placing a hand on John's arm. "Things are a lot different here then in the books there. Sherlock's asexual in the books." She joked with John to get his mind off the potential of a Mary. John looked to his best friend and couldn't help but chuckle at Sherlock's horrified face. Rose grinned and turned back to the other three.

"You're turn, Doctor," Rose pointed out, looking to his companions with interest.

"This is Amy and Rory Pond." The Doctor gestured wildly at the couple, grinning at both of them, though Rory frowned.

"Actually, its Williams."

"No, its not," Amy and the Doctor said at the same time, ignoring Rory's comment. Rose was getting a very Mickey vibe from the man and already liked him. "But what are we doing in here?" The Doctor asked. "Whole new London to explore and characters to meet!"

"People," Rose amended his comment walking towards the door, but grinned enthusiastically none the less.

"I don't see how thats necessary," Sherlock said from behind her. She caught the tone in his voice and turned around, trying to read his emotions to get a sense of what he was thinking, but when he saw her watching him he pushed them all down. "Rose has said before that this London is nearly identical to yours except the public doesn't have common knowledge of aliens and John and I are not characters."

The Doctor looked confused, Rose knew that for him, if the TARDIS landed somewhere it meant go exploring, but this time the TARDIS had only come there to see Rose, there wasn't any danger in Sherlock's Universe to go looking for. But still, even Rose felt that need to run out of the TARDIS and around town, and by the way they were shifting, so did the Doctor's companions.

"Theres always something to see," the Doctor replied, looking to Rose and grinning in nostalgic excitement. She grinned back.

"Oh!" Amy exclaimed, rushing to Rose and whispering. "Is there a Mrs. Hudson? or Inspector Lestrade?"

"What about Mycroft?" The Doctor asked as well, both of them doing a horrible job at whispering, but Rose laughed joyfully.

"Yes, they're all here, but if we meet them," Rose pointed at the pair of them, containing a grin. "No book talk." Amy and the Doctor stood up straight and zipped their lips, throwing away the key. The sight made Rose's heart warm, he needed someone to be like this with him, not just to bring him out of the darkness he no doubt still fell into, but to be silly with him because he was such a silly old man. "Then lets go!" Rose exclaimed, grabbing the Doctor's hand and running out the door of the TARDIS, not needing to be connected to her to feel the TARDIS's happiness blossom.

They all hurried out of the TARDIS and down the street, Rose and the Doctor running the whole way and laughing. She couldn't get over how good it felt to be doing just this simple thing, all she needed was an alien trying to take over Earth, but she'd had that last week so she wasn't hopeful.

The Doctor and Rose skidded to a stop in front of 221B Baker St, the Doctor bounding up the steps and looking at the address, grinning madly. "Rose Tyler," he shook his head and looked over his shoulder at her "dating Sherlock Holmes." Rose chuckled and nodded but the Doctor still shook his head. She ignored that and looked down the street to their four companions following at a slower pace. John and Rory were slowly starting a conversation, Sherlock and Amy wouldn't walk next to each other but both were staring at the Doctor and her with peculiar expression.

"How long have you two been together?" The Doctor pushed.

Rose shrugged, keeping her eyes on Sherlock, wondering why the Doctor was asking, he'd never been keen on talking about emotions before. She guessed that she'd grown use to Nine in the Mind TARDIS, Ten had been more emotional and maybe Eleven was even more so.

"Coming up on nine months, I think, we've been something for a while but like most geniuses I know, he didn't admit it till we were already in the middle," Rose explained, a fond smile growing on her lips as she thought of the three geniuses she'd fallen in love with, Sherlock had surprisingly been the easiest to admit his feelings. She heard the Doctor shuffle his feet next to her, feeling his emotions grow regretful and chastised.

"221B Baker St," Rory said in reverence when they arrived. "Can we go inside?" He looked to Rose, and she laughed, looking to John and Sherlock. The latter look unimpressed by the obsession with his address while John still seemed to be coming to terms with this new fame, she couldn't imagine how John would act if they started gaining actual publicity in this universe.

"I hope so, because Sherlock needs to clean up his experiment before we go anywhere else," Rose stepped up to the door and opened it, grinning when the Doctor, Amy, and Rory audibly held their breaths.

"I do not," Sherlock said, walking past the amazed three who seemed to no longer be entertaining him but leaning more towards annoying him.

"You do if you don't want Mrs. Hudson cleaning it up for you and putting everything where she thinks it goes," Rose pointed out, heading up the stairs but stopping half way up when she only heard two pairs of steps following her. She turned around, letting Sherlock pass her, looking to John who was just about to start up the stairs. "John, yell out the door and tell them in or out, will ya?"

John turned around noticed the three still looking at his home in reverence and sighed. "Rose says in or out," he called, then started up the stairs. "Do you smell tea?" he asked Rose hopefully as he passed, she laughed and shook her head.

"I'll put some on." She patted his shoulder as he passed, waiting for the Doctor and his companions to come inside before following her boys upstairs.

Rory closed the door behind him as they stepped inside, all three wearing awed expressions until they finally took it all in. Amy scrunched her face up and looked around, "I thought it'd be bigger."

"Well, an 18th century flat is larger than a 21st," Rose pointed out. She leaned against the railing and pointed down to her flat. "Thats my flat, then that door," she pointed to the door on the second floor, "is Mrs. Hudson, and the boys are upstairs." Rose turned around and walked upstairs, grateful when the three of them followed.

Inside the flat, John was slumped in his chair with his head in his hands while Sherlock was in the kitchen continuing his experiment instead of cleaning it up, neither of them looked up as the other three walked in. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory, remained standing, hovering by the couch, while Rose sat in Sherlock's chair and placed a comforting hand on John's shoulder. He didn't look up, but he moved his head into one hand while the other grasped her hand on his shoulder.

"Alright, Captain?" She asked him, squeezing his shoulder.

"Alright," he mumbled. "Swear you're not alien?"

"Swear," Rose assured him. "The Doctor is though, he's got two hearts." John tapped the beat of two hearts on her hand on his shoulder and Rose laughed. "Yeah, Sherlock did the same when I told him." John looked up and leaned back in his chair, Rose looked to their guest, but they were just watching the exchange, Rory and Amy looking around the room while the Doctor stared at her.

"When did you tell him? At the hospital?" John asked, looking behind him to Sherlock who was acting as though he wasn't listening, though they both knew he was.

"No, after Moriarty's text," Rose replied, pushing up from the chair to help Sherlock finish the experiment so they could start exploring Sherlock's Universe. However, the Doctor called to her so she stopped and turned to him, standing behind John's chair.

"Rose," he said, "is Professor Moriarty a danger here?" The Doctor frowned as he said it, realizing that there may be new dangers in this universe he hadn't thought about, as well as old ones. Rose's heart clenched at the familiar expression of worry on his unfamiliar face, but she also saw Amy look between the two of them suspiciously and could feel Sherlock's eyes turn to her. Though he knew she could take care of herself, Sherlock still worried about Moriarty using her against him and they tried to avoid talking about it because it only led to a fight.

"About as much as any terrorist back home," Rose pointed out with a shrug. "He is only a man."

"It was only a woman that got you trapped in Pete's Universe in the first place," the Doctor pointed out with a bitter tone.

The emotions in the room, that a moment ago had been at eased, were tensing the longer this conversation went on. John and Rory, while becoming alert soldiers, were the calmest emotions, while Amy was starting to grow angry for reasons Rose didn't understand, and the Doctor and Sherlock's emotions were jumping between possessive, anger, jealousy, and worry. Everyone seemed to be staring at her and taking emotional cues based off her.

"Actually, it was Daleks and Cyberman, Hartman was just the woman who put everything where they wanted it," Rose said, trying not to snap. "I can handle one man, as I've said many times." Rose looked into the kitchen and at Sherlock pointedly, who frowned in response.

"I don't doubt that you can, but that doesn't mean you can prevent him from hurting you before you beat him," the Doctor pointed out. "Maybe I should-" Rose groaned and marched into the kitchen, cutting the Doctor off before he said anything overly misogynist. "I'm serious, Rose," the Doctor stepped into the kitchen doorway, watching as Rose started to put away Sherlock's experiment as Sherlock wrote down his findings.

"Yes, you're serious, I get that, Doctor," Rose said, not turning to him as she cleaned up. "But Moriarty is human, he may act a lot like a Dalek, but he is human. What are you going to do about that, hm?" The Doctor didn't answer so Rose turned around, hands on hips, finding more than just him watching her but she kept going. "He's going to threaten you, point a gun at you, and laugh when you talk about redemption, what then, Doctor?"

"I-"

"-don't know," Rose finished for him. "Do you want to know who does?" Rose pointed behind her in the direction where Sherlock's piercing stare was coming from. She didn't need to turn around to feel his surprise. "Sherlock Holmes." The Doctor looked away from her and towards the detective, then back to her. "Drop it, Doctor," Rose advised, turning away for the last time and finishing up cleaning.

The Doctor walked back into the other room, joining Amy on the couch while Rory moved to talk with John about his medical practice. Rose paused as all the guests were occupied and took a deep, calming breath while leaning against the counter. By the time she was exhaling, Sherlock was standing in front of her, not touching or saying anything, but being there if she needed him. Rose lifted her hand and clutched his for a moment, trying to take the strength he was offering her, she felt drained all of a sudden, like the run from the TARDIS to 221 B had been much longer than it was.

Sherlock opened his mouth to say something she'd felt him building confidence to, but the Doctor made a sound of distress in the other room and bolted out the room, saying something was wrong with the TARDIS. Rose looked up at Sherlock, her breath hitching as she realized the draining of energy she was feeling was her sister, and it had her bolting after the Doctor, Sherlock's hand grasped tightly in hers as he tried to keep up with her desperation. Rose couldn't loose her sister, it would be too much loss for one person, too much for anyone.


	35. A Chance At Forever

The Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and ran to the low powered controls, dashing around the new control room to learn as much as he could. Rose walked in slower, after Amy and Rory ran in asking frantically what was wrong but not doing anything helpful. Sherlock and John stood behind her, Sherlock's hand no longer in hers as she slowly walked around the panels and looked around the TARDIS, searching for her sister.

"She'd been feeding off of something in this universe that was connected to our vortex," the Doctor was explaining to Amy and Rory. Rose slid down to sit by the stairs and stare up at the rotor, Sherlock's eyes were digging into the side of her face but she couldn't tear her eyes from the dimming lights. "I think it must have run out of power or she is loosing the connection. We've got to get out of here while we've got enough power, or we really will be stuck."

"The connection will be safe right?" Rose asked softly, desperately, not taking her somewhat damp eyes off the rotor as she felt the occupants of the control room focus on her. "It won't be lost forever, yeah?" The Doctor stayed quiet, and Rose looked to him, her eyes begging him. "She can't leave me, Doctor."

"Thats not possible," the Doctor shook his head, grabbing the monitor and pushing it around so it could do a scan of Rose. "I took it out of you, all of it, I-" The Doctor stared at the readings and looked at Rose, his breath catching. "Rose, why didn't you tell me?"

"Bad Wolf didn't show up again until after I was in Pete's Universe," Rose explained, getting up from the ground and leaning heavily on the railing.

"You can see the the Time Vortex right now?" the Doctor asked, astonished but worried.

Rose shook her head, "It's only a small piece of it, I use it to scare people mostly," Rose blinked Bad Wolf into her eyes, and as she did, the lights in the TARDIS grew to their normal brightness, but when Bad Wolf receded, they started to dim again.

The Doctor stared at Rose, his emotions grinding to a halt. Rose would have given anything to read his erratic mind at the moment because if she understood her empathic powers right, his thoughts were so mucked up and going haywire, that he couldn't even form a proper emotion. Rose frowned at him, glancing at the darkening room.

"So the TARDIS was feeding off of Rose, but stopped?" Rory asked, hesitant to speak for the Doctor, but the sound snapped the Doctor back into place and he started grinning, not manically like Rose was use to, but a pure happy smile. It was the smile he wore on days where everybody lived and she couldn't help it if her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes!" The Doctor grinned, "Because Rose has a piece of the Time Vortex inside her and as long as the TARDIS didn't rely on her too heavily, Rose stayed perfectly safe and healthy."

"She stopped when I started to feel it," Rose observed and the Doctor sent her a stunning smile that she returned, but she wondered what had put him in such a good mood. For years, Rose assumed that if he found out she still had a piece of the Time Vortex in her, something that had scared him into a regeneration, that the Doctor would take it out of her. Instead he was dancing around the TARDIS.

"But I thought she'd burn if she had it in her?" Amy asked suspiciously glancing between the two.

"Ah!" The Doctor clapped. "That's the thing, it wasn't enough to hurt her, but enough that over time, it's changed her." The Doctor hurried over to Rose and scanned her with the sonic screwdriver. Out of the corner of her eye, John stepped forward to make the Doctor stop but she waved him off. "Accelerated healing and an increased mental capacity," the Doctor observed happily.

"So?" John snapped, moving over to Rose as the Doctor hopped away, Sherlock stayed by the door. "Shouldn't you be focusing on your ship instead of Rose?"

"Maybe, but the TARDIS knows whats she's doing because she brought me here!" The Doctor exclaimed spinning around and then focusing only on Rose. "Do you know what this means, Rose?" He asked, saying her name like a prayer with so much hope behind it.

"I'm Human 2.0?" She asked because that was what she had always assumed was the essence of what she was now: nothing special, just a little _more_.

"You've always been that," the Doctor joked in a very obvious flirtatious matter.

Sherlock was still standing in the door warily watching the Doctor and Amy was starting to glare daggers at him. Rose focused on the Doctor however, waiting to hear what the Torchwood scientist had been looking for, for the answers the TARDIS couldn't put in words.

"Rose," the Doctor said. "With the Vortex inside of you, there is enough to change your genes if its manipulated."

"Change them how?" Rose asked, biting her lip.

The Doctor slowly approached Rose and took her hand, his smile dropping to a lower degree but still happiness shined in his eyes. "You could become a Time Lady, Rose. I've seen Vortex energy like this be manipulated into creating a true Time Lady with regeneration and extended life, and I know how to do it."

"A Time Lady," Rose breathed out shakily, her mind grinding to a halt.

For years, Rose had feared that regeneration was possible for her and she would have to watch people on Earth die around her because she couldn't get off this planet and travel like the Doctor could. She'd finally found out it was impossible, but what the Doctor was saying- it was possible with a few tricks, and she wouldn't be alone. She was standing inside the TARDIS, right in front of the Doctor who still looked at her like she was his Universe, and he was saying these words that had her old heart racing and her mind going crazy.

"I could do it, Rose," the Doctor whispered, both of them staring at each other. "You promised me you would stay with me forever, I can give us a real chance at that."

Rose took in another shaky breath, now basically chewing on her lip as the Doctor looked at her with a look that use to melt her to her knees. Behind the Doctor, the sound of the TARDIS doors opening and then slamming could be heard.

"Sherlock!" John called, racing after his best friend while Rose whipped her head away from the Doctor and towards where Sherlock had been standing. Her heart quit beating erratically, instead it had just stopped.

"Rose." the Doctor raised a hand and lightly turned her face back to him, but Rose kept trying to see the door.

"You arsehole!" Amy screeched, and they both jumped, looking towards his companions. At the sight of the feisty red head, the Doctor took a small but noticeable step away from Rose. "How could you do this to her? The two of you marrying random famous people is one thing, but this?" Amy pointed angrily at Rose. "Offering forever to another woman? I can't believe you."

Amy said the last bit quietly, seeming to be overcome with disappointment, before she shook her head and walked out of the room. The Doctor looked sadly after his companion, but didn't move from where he stood next to Rose, only turned to Rory who was glaring at him with more anger than Rose would expect a kind hearted man like him to own.

"I may not have spent as much time with her as you and Amy, and I will forever be in your debt for her," Rory shook his head and narrowed his eyes at the Doctor. "But if you hurt her like this, Doctor, we'll see which one of us stays dead first." Then Rory followed his wife out and it was just the Doctor, Rose and the TARDIS once again.


	36. Not You

They stayed silent for a long while, not looking at each other exactly, but not moving away either. Rose was trying to decide, because that was what this was, it wasn't a chance to get what she always wanted, it wasn't a chance to live in the stars with the man she wanted. It was her time to decide who she wanted to be and how she wanted her story to end. For the Doctor, there was nothing to decide, only plans to put in motion and damage control to handle. Standing next to him was Rose Tyler, his Rose Tyler who could live with him forever like he'd dreamed about for so, so long. They stood next to each other, both too caught up in their own thoughts for a moment to make any action on what they wanted to do.

"Who are they talking about, Doctor?" Rose whispered, turning towards him to catch his guilty frown before he masked it.

"River Song, my wife," he said her title hesitantly and with a bite. He didn't want to talk about River to Rose, because she was nothing to Rose. He cared about River because he was suppose to, he didn't even fully know who she was so he just played along, but this was his Rose. His Rose was there in front of him and their forever was finally a tangible thing he could see in the future.

"And you would just leave her?" Rose shook her head and looked at the Doctor disgusted. "Doctor, you can't."

"But she isn't you, Rose, and we're not even married, it was in an odd universe, kind of parallel, but not really, well- thats not the point." The Doctor shook himself and focused on Rose. "I don't love _her_ , Rose." There, he didn't say it out right, but Rose knew what he meant, knew it was the closest he'd get until her forever was really there.

"So you'd just leave her like that? What if a few hundred years down the line I regenerate into someone you don't like and you leave me, huh?" Rose asked the question only because she felt she needed to know to make her decision, but at his words, she knew she didn't.

"No, not you, never you" he swore, but she shook her head and sighed, looking away. "Rose," the Doctor whispered, taking her hand and pulling them towards the console where there was more light. "Do you remember when I asked you how long you were going to stay with me? And-"

"I said forever," Rose finished for him, smiling up at him but the Doctor couldn't see that it was a sad smile.

"Forever," he repeated with a laugh. "Rose, I can give us the forever we've always wanted. You and me in the TARDIS, forever, like it was meant to be." He held on to both of her hands and smiled down at her.

"I told you I would stay with you forever, Doctor," Rose said, then stepped out of his hold. "And I tried so hard to give that to you. I tore my way through universes to get back to you and-" Rose shook her head as she choked on the words and the Doctor's shoulders sagged and his eyebrows creased. "You sent me right back, left before I could tell you no."

"But Rose, I was doing what I thought was best for you, for us. I would have seen you grow old and wither and you-"

"You sent me away so you wouldn't have to feel pain later on after a wonderful life together!" Rose shouted at him, moving away and fiercely brushing a tear away. She'd thought she had comes to terms with all of this, and in a way she had, but having those eyes look at her like she was what kept him going brought it all back up. But she was wiser now, and she'd vowed never to let an emotionally-handicapped genius anywhere near her heart again.

The Doctor followed after her, anger rising in him at her words, "No," the Doctor said, grabbing her arm so she'd face him. "Don't think for a second I didn't feel just as much of the pain you did when we weren't together anymore. More because I had to live with someone else being in my place! I thought about you everyday, I still do." The Doctor was desperate now, and they both knew it, but Rose had made her decision.

"And I did you, and I was ready to hand over everything I was to you. I would have done anything to give you our forever, Doctor, and then you forced John on me." Rose almost shook her head, but at the thought of her second love, she couldn't because she wasn't mad at the Doctor for giving her those beautiful months with John even with the ending they had.

"No-"

Rose raised her hand. "I'm not mad about John, Doctor. Just listen to me." Rose lowered her hand and smiled up at the Doctor coming to terms with her words as she said them "I got my forever with you already, Doctor. It may not have been thousands of years, but our two year forever was beautiful and so was my year forever with John. I loved you both so fiercely and I don't regret a thing."

The Doctor smiled sadly back at her words, feeling the familiar ache he felt whenever he thought of his Rose and her undying love her him, except now he knew it wasn't boundless. He'd always known Rose would fall out of love with him, had feared the day, but he'd always believed it would be due to loosing someone or because of something he'd messed up or because she'd seen too much of his dark side, but in the end, it was from pushing her too far away.

"You and I don't need a forever anymore, Doctor, and I don't need forever to stretch out in hundred of years. I really am ready to grow old with someone and give them my forever, and I want to do that with Sherlock."

The Doctor shook his head, "oh, Rose," he said. His words, though not having any meaning, made ire rise in Rose because she could sense the next words he was going to say and she didn't want him to put a voice to them. They needed to be left unsaid, she'd avoided thinking about them for a year now and she didn't want the Doctor, of all people, to be the one to remind her. "Rose, come with me, you know your forever isn't with him."

"It is," Rose bit out, her anger making the Doctor somewhat angry as well.

"With Sherlock Holmes?" The Doctor snapped. "You're smarter than this, Rose, you know how this story ends, and it's not with Sherlock Holmes growing old, it ends with a fall like it always has."

Rose stepped and turned away from him to circle the console, "you don't know that."

"We both do," the Doctor said, his anger leaving him at her distraught look. "Rose, don't do this to yourself, don't love a man that you'll loose, please."

Rose turned back to the Doctor with a frown, "isn't that what I'm good at?" The Doctor closed his eyes tight at the words, feeling them puncture his heart and no doubt leave a permanent mark. "You don't know thats what will happen, Doctor, no one does, thats the point of a parallel universe."

"But it is parallel, Rose," the Doctor pointed out, but she was shaking her head.

"Only by a little, Doctor, I've lived here for six years and I know these people as people, not as characters. They write their own stories like they're suppose to, Doctor, and I'm going to live out mine with them."

"And if he does fall?" The Doctor asked hesitantly. Rose shook her head and closed her eyes, trying not to entertain the thought.

"Third strike, I guess," Rose said her morbid words with a shrug, but looked away from the Doctor towards the doors, missing his heartbroken but resigned expression. "I love him, Doctor, just as much as I loved you, and he loves me back in a way you never could."

The Doctor was desperate as she said these words he didn't want to believe were true, words that would suggest his long list of companions weren't due to loosing them, but from growing bored or from letting them get too close. He didn't want to believe that he sought out loneliness. Yet he still couldn't say it. "I could too, Rose, I've changed."

Rose shook her head and smiled, lifting her hand and placing it on his cheek, fondly but platonically, "you haven't changed, Doctor, you were going to leave River, your wife, for little ole me. Eventually, you would do that to me as well."

"I told you, Rose," the Doctor whispered. "You're different, I won't do that to you. Not to you."

Rose laughed a wet laugh and let one last tear drop for this mad man. "You already did, Doctor." They both choked on their words and the Doctor pulled her to him, both of them clinging to each other for the last time, no more words needing to be said.


	37. You're Here

John had followed Sherlock out of the TARDIS, down the street and into 221B, but he hadn't been quick enough to follow him into his room which he'd promptly locked. John had stayed outside the door for ten minutes, but eventually, Sherlock was left alone to his thoughts and abused feelings.

That was thirty minutes ago, and still Sherlock sat in the windowsill, staring into his room because he didn't want to see the happenings of outside.

Rose was leaving him, in a way that was so final that he didn't even know what to think about it or how to feel. This was what she'd always wanted, a chance to return to the stars and he and the Earth were no where near enough to keep her grounded, not when a Time Lord was promising all of Time and Space, as well as the chance to live forever. Sherlock never stood a chance. But he had tried, foolishly he'd thought he could manage to be enough for her, if he just did the things even a Time Lord wouldn't do for her, if he just loved her.

Sherlock closed his eyes to try and breathe. As he took in a breath, it came out in a choked sob at the sound of grating engines and localized wind starting up and then fading away. They were gone. It took her a little over a hour to make the decision to leave him after everything they'd been through.

Sherlock's room didn't stand a chance against his broken heart. Within minutes his sheets were torn, his drawers were askew and his door had been broken, but it wasn't enough. All the pieces Rose had fixed in him, all his organized and finally controlled thoughts were unravelling in his mind. Sherlock's demons hadn't been destroyed by Rose, they'd been subdued and were waiting for a moment like this, now they were back in full force to make up for old time.

"Sherlock," a voice came from the hallway, but he barely heard it as he was too distracted with trying to find any drugs or nicotine under his bed or hidden in the floorboards. He didn't care if John came in the room now, a few words would have John leaving him alone for days and Sherlock was prepared to do that to be alone.

Sherlock was bent over pulling up his loose floorboard when he felt a hand gently placed on his shoulder, but he pushed it off roughly and turn around, a snarl on his face lasting only long enough for him to register who was staring back at him. Who was still in this universe.

"Sherlock?" Rose asked hesitantly, slowly raising a hand to his cheek, her eyes flitting back and forth between his with clear worry.

"Rose," Sherlock said, his voice raspy but he didn't say it with all the feelings he had because he didn't know why she was here. Even if she was leaving, she would be worried about him, even if she was leaving she could be looking at him like that. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?" Rose asked, lowering her hand and tilting her head to the side. "You're here so I'm here."

Sherlock's heart beat in his ears at her words, but he stayed passive and staring at her. "And the Doctor?"

"He's gone," Rose smiled sadly. Sherlock moved past just staring at Rose and took her in, observed her, and he saw he splotchy face and drying tears. "We said goodbye after he helped me create a stronger, more reliable connection with my sister. He'll be driving her horribly back through the rip by now."

Sherlock frowned, confused and somewhat upset with what she was saying, was she insane? "You could have lived forever, with your Doctor, traveling your real universe, how stupid could you be to give that up?" Sherlock snapped at Rose. Rose glanced around the room, taking note of it and his state, before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his neck with a doting smile.

"Because I love you, Sherlock," Rose said. Sherlock didn't move, tried not to breathe, the emotional rollercoaster he'd been on grinding to a halt.

"But the Doctor-" Rose shook her head and interrupted him.

"The Doctor left me, Sherlock, after I searched and returned to him. I stopped loving him on that beach, because he broke my heart and refused to acknowledge it. I don't care that he found me again, or that he offered me the universe, because its not him I want." Rose paused and fiddled with the hair at the base of Sherlock's neck, distracting him from his torturous thoughts. "I may not be fully human, Sherlock, but I'm your partial human. I don't want to live forever, I just want your forever."

Sherlock continued staring at her, not comprehending her words. "Why?" He asked.

Rose chuckled and shrugged. "Because you're a genius, because you love and attract adventure and because within twenty-four hours you were calling me your equal. Mostly though," Rose whispered, leaning closer. "because you love me back just as fiercely as I love you." Then Rose leaned in and gently kissed Sherlock. It was enough to pull Sherlock out of his head so that when she started to pull away, he finally moved and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

Sherlock held on to Rose tightly, even after they stopped kissing, breathing her in and just enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms after fearing he'd never see her again. He didn't understand what she saw in him that would have her choose being with a high functioning sociopath over literally everything else. He was nothing compared to the Doctor, nothing compared to what the TARDIS could give Rose, but she was still standing in his arms listening to his single heartbeat.

"I love you," Sherlock whispered.

He was overcome with his affection for the blonde in his arms. He understood he didn't deserve her, but he was more intelligent than the Doctor in this aspect because he wasn't going to let anything, be it the universe or himself, push her away. Rose pulled away and looked up at him, her eyes shining with the words that didn't need to be said.

"I'm never going to leave you," Sherlock vowed. "So long as I'm alive, I'm going to always find a way to you, Rose, I swear it." He watched her eyes tear up, before she buried her head in his neck.

"Thank you." Her breath tickled his neck and he held her tighter, neither of them paid attention to the destruction Sherlock had caused in the short minutes he'd had to be brokenhearted or noticed John standing in the doorway, smiling at them.


	38. The Falls of Reichenbach

Rose sat in Sherlock's chair, covered with a blanket and cuddled up with a book, occasionally glancing up from the novel to catch sight of Sherlock in the kitchen. Molly had sent him the gift of a mutated hand and he was going through several experiments to pass the time because apparently, Rose being engrossed with a novel and John being busy at the hospital bored him.

Rose chuckled to herself and tried to refocus on the story, she'd read it before, "The Time Machine," but was reading it closer this time to pick out any differences from Pete's Universe and from the Original Universe. She'd stopped making comparisons as often after the Doctor left, but couldn't resist when she saw it in the bookstore with a different cover than she'd ever seen. So far though it was the only difference.

Life with Sherlock was better now that they had encountered the Doctor. Rose hadn't realized the extent of Sherlock's insecurities when it came to the Doctor, until she saw just how shocked he was that she picked him. For days after the Doctor and his companions left, he'd wake up in the morning and ask if she was sure, if she regretted her choice, but she always assured him she didn't. For her part, Rose felt lighter, happier than she had in almost a decade, because all of her demons had been laid to rest in those two hours she had with the Doctor and the TARDIS. She was now certain she loved Sherlock just as much, if not more, than how she use to love the Doctor. She was surprised to realize that she'd subconsciously been worried about who she would pick if given the choice, but now she knew, they both did. Sherlock and Rose were incandescently happy -and both on edge because of it.

"Sherlock?" John called as he walked up the stairs, Rose put the book down to watch as John walked in holding several envelopes in his hand. Sherlock didn't look up from his experiment of course. "All the bills decided to arrive on the same day and be due within the same week," John complained, throwing them down on the side table. "And they've gone up."

Rose bit her lip as she glanced over the bills, looking to John who was rubbing his face and to her boyfriend who was oblivious of their conversation. "Sherlock," she called. He glanced towards her but still proceeded with his experiment. "Bills arrived," she told him.

"Put them on the desk," he told her distractedly, but Rose walked into the kitchen and placed them on the table. "You're worrying needlessly again," Sherlock commented while he measured out two liquids.

"I never worry needlessly," Rose remarked. "And I'm not now, you've not taken a case in weeks, Sherlock, how are you going to pay for these?"

"Take more cases apparently." Rose rolled her eyes at his tone and pulled at his arm till he looked at her exasperatedly.

"You have a long list on the website, let me finish the experiment while you go look at them. I'll even follow your steps and refrain from fixing anything," Rose assured him, smiling with a tongue to show she was teasing him. Sherlock groaned, but did as she bid and started scrolling through the many requests for his genius-ness. Within minutes he was shouting out the answers to the easy cases for John and Rose to hear, though Rose tuned him out. John got to work on writing emails to the clients with cases Sherlock had already solved.

"Stolen painting," Sherlock muttered to himself after a few minutes of being quiet. Rose was putting away his experiment, but stopped to walk over to the desk and read over his shoulder, John joining her.

"Falls of the Reichenbach," John read, then went on to comment about the details of the disappearance of the painting, but Rose didn't hear any of it, she just laid her hand on Sherlock's shoulder and stood there.

 _It ends with a fall like it always has._

Sherlock and John continued talking, moving from the desk to the door to grab their coats. By the time Sherlock was turning to look at her, she was hysteric but no one would have been able to tell. "Are you coming?" Sherlock asked, moving to grab her coat, but Rose smiled and shook her head.

"Next time," Rose said with her straightest voice. Sherlock nodded, but stayed looking at her while John waved goodbye and went downstairs to hail a cab. Rose walked up to him and took his face in her hands, lightly kissing him but putting all of her feelings behind it. "I love you," she said when she pulled away.

"Whats wrong?" Sherlock asked, his head still in her hands.

"Please be careful," was all Rose said, before kissing him again then stepping back. "I'll see you when you get back, yeah?"

"Of course," Sherlock said, wrapping his scarf around his neck while he watched her. He was picking up on small signs of her distress, but she was too good for him to deduce what was wrong, not that she would ever tell him. As a rule they didn't bring up that she had read his novels and she never offered any information, when he went on cases she'd read, she stayed home waiting to hear about how it was different and how he solved it.

"Well, go on," Rose motioned for him to get going, hoping to get him out before she cracked.

Sherlock watched her, but John called up the stairs that the cab had arrived so Sherlock nodded and went to solve his case.

Rose stood in the living room, listening to him hurrying down the stairs and closing the door behind him. She walked slowly to the window and watched them enter the cab and drive off. She stayed staring after them for a long time, counting her breath and trying to think rationally.

The likelihood that Sherlock would die while recovering a missing painting that he appeared to have already partially solved was so low that on a normal situation she would have stayed home going over what information she had and try to solve it while he was gone. But Reichenbach? Just the name made her catch her breath, but there was nothing for her to do. She knew from traveling with a being that could read timelines that there was nothing anyone could do to stop a fixed event in a person's timeline from happening, and altering it in anyway would just lead to more destruction.

Rose went to sit in Sherlock's chair, and then couldn't get comfortable and moved to his bedroom, climbing into the bed on his side and holding his pillow. She felt as though she was her nineteen year old self before she went traveling with the Doctor, completely useless -but what was there to do? If she went with him, she'd be too close to the situation to help and would be too distracted to keep him safe if it did become dangerous.

Rose could feel her heart beating in her chest and hear it in her ears, but knew that it wasn't anywhere near her, but out in the world in Sherlock's hands, very much in danger of breaking today. She recalled the words she'd told the Doctor when she revealed she was picking Sherlock over the universe, and didn't know what she'd meant by it, what striking out would mean for her. After loosing all the people she had in her life, she didn't know if she could take her own life as well, but knew that loosing Sherlock would be like she had anyways.

Rose was left to her morbid, dangerous thoughts for hours. She didn't exactly cry, though tears were shed, she just laid there waiting. There was nothing to mourn, and her rational side convinced her there was nothing to worry about, but she could do nothing but wait.

"Rose?" John's voice carried through the flat, causing Rose to surge to her feet. "Hey," John said when Rose threw open the door and took a look into the hall. Behind him, Sherlock was taking off his coat watching her curiously. "Chinese sound good for dinner?" Rose grinned, her heart calming and her chest easing to where she could breathe again as she skipped to Sherlock, threw her arms around his neck, and snogged him without reserve. "Oh, god," John started complaining immediately, hurrying out of the room while Sherlock wrapped his arms around her waist and returned her fervor with his own.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips, grinning and looking into his confused, but slightly dazed eyes.

"And I you, will you admit something is wrong now?" He asked, pulling away only slightly to look her over. "You've been in bed this whole time?"

Rose shook her head and chuckled. "I can't tell you everything, but lets just say that Reichenbach comes with negative connotations back home." Rose paused and looked at Sherlock's face and watched him look back at her, trying to read her and failing at it, which had her grinning even more. "What would you think about me moving my things from downstairs to up here?" Rose asked casually.

"Its rather lazy of you, actually," Sherlock said, not exactly getting what she was asking.

"Oh?" Rose chuckled, stepping out of his arms and around the room with a secret smile. "How so?"

"You don't want to go down two sets of stairs to get your clothes when you stay here," Sherlock explained, following her with his eyes.

"What if I didn't live downstairs?" Rose asked, hiding a chuckle when Sherlock frowned but tried to seem nonchalant about his misunderstanding that she wanted to move out.

"Where would you go?" He asked. "You're here all the time anyways, theres no need to go somewhere else."

"You're right," Rose plopped down in his chair and picked back up "The Time Machine."

"Of course I am," Sherlock said, walking into the kitchen to go over the notes she'd taken on the last half of his experiment.

"John," Rose called out to her friend. He poked his head out of his room, still wearing a disgusted face. "Chinese sounds great."

John came out of his room with the roll of his eyes, and sat on the other side of the desk, giving them both gross looks, which had Rose chuckling but Sherlock didn't notice. "Sherlock's been invited to the ceremony the museum is throwing in honor of him finding the painting," John informed Rose.

"I'm not going," Sherlock said from the kitchen, John and Rose locked eyes and rolled their eyes.

"It's good for getting new clients," John told him in a tone that made it clear they'd been arguing about it since the invitation was given. "You're welcome too," John added as an after thought.

Rose hummed her reply and went back to her book while John opened his laptop and started on his blog. Sherlock turned away from Rose's notes after a minute and stared at her till Rose looked up and stared back, a smile playing on her lips, while he pursed his. "Would you like to move in?" He asked, John paused in his typing but didn't look away from his computer to give the impression of giving them the room. Sherlock kept his voice steady to not show his nervousness, but Rose picked up on it anyways and smiled kindly at him.

"Great idea," she teased him.

"Okay," Sherlock said nonchalantly. He turned away but not before Rose saw his small smile. Rose looked over to John and they both shared a grin.


	39. Boffin and Bachelor

**If it is not obvious " o0o0o0o " means time has passed and most likely the POV has changed, typically I use those markers to show the end of a chapter in my separate document where it's all typed out, but these are all short so it's better to have them all together in one. I've not decided yet, and probably won't do it till I've posted everything, but I may go back and compile a few of the chapters so they aren't all so short.**

John, Rose and Sherlock stood next to the painting of the Falls of the Reichenbach, Sherlock and John standing closest to the painting as they had been the ones to solve the case and Rose was just their plus one. The curator of the museum was giving a short speech about the painting while the three of them stood off to the side trying to smile at the crowd. Well, Rose and John were.

"Falls of the Reichenbach. Turner's masterpiece, thankfully recovered, owning to the prodigious talent of Mr. Sherlock Holmes," The curator looked at the famous detective, who was looking, and no doubt deducing to pass the time, the crowd as they clapped for him. Rose tried to silently tap her feet, while John observed the carpet patterns.

John was starting to wonder why he had made Sherlock come to this when they both knew how boring it would be. Besides, it wouldn't be that good for publicity, no one will read about some stolen painting being found a day later.

The curator approached the three of them holding a small gift box out for Sherlock. "A small token of our gratitude," he said as Sherlock took the box.

Without even having to shake it, Sherlock said, "Diamond cufflinks."

"How wonderful," Rose complimented with a plastered on smile when Sherlock opened his mouth to say more. However her poor attempt at hiding Sherlock's eternal rudeness couldn't properly stop it.

Sherlock turned to Rose with a dubious displeased expression. "All my cuffs have buttons," Sherlock reminded her. Rose rolled her eyes while John was quick to say.

"He means thank you," without much emotion behind it, which had Rose nudging him.

"Do I?" Sherlock asked them both, the curator looking at the three with quite an amount of confusion.

"Just say it," John muttered without looking at the detective and Rose took a deep breath and re-plastered her smile. Sherlock opened his mouth, then closed it and looked to be trying very hard not to roll his eyes.

"Thank you," Sherlock said softly, then made to walk off.

"Nope," Rose popped, grabbing his hand and pulling him back for a picture. Just as the camera man stepped up, Rose stepped out of the picture and smirked at them both.

John scowled at her afterwards while she handed them both their coats. "I don't see why, if you don't have to be in the picture, I do," John complained.

"I wasn't even there," Rose pointed out, taking Sherlock's hand as they walked out.

"I don't see why there needs to be a picture," Sherlock commented but Rose shushed him fondly.

"I can't very well have my picture in the papers, Mycroft would have a fit," Rose laughed while the boys grumbled.

o0o0o0o0o

"They want me to stand outside their house while they talk just so the newspapers see me," Sherlock complained to Rose a few days later over chips. He'd finished solving a case of a kidnapped banker who was apparently fairly influential in London, and now was being recognized once again.

"They probably want to show their thanks," Rose pointed out.

"I don't care about that," Sherlock exclaimed, disgusted. "If I wanted to be thanked I'd work for the Yard."

"No, you wouldn't," Rose said offhandedly, then snagged a chip and chewed on it. "Just go, you're not doing anything tomorrow anyways, and if a big case comes up between now and then you'll have an excuse not to go."

Sherlock grumbled but consented. "You'll go?" He asked, grinning when she rolled her eyes but nodded.

o0o0o0o0o

Rose sat in the back of the Yard's conference room, trying to cover her snickers as she watched her boyfriend and surrogate brother squirm under all of the flashing cameras and attention. At the front of the room, Greg was trying to make his speech sound thankful for Sherlock, without making the Yard look more incompetent then it already did since Sherlock had gained public attention.

"Peter Ricoletti. Number one on Interpol's most wanted list since 1982," Greg said with Ricoletti's horrid face flashed behind him. "But we got him. And there's one person we have to thank for giving us the decisive leads, with all his customary diplomacy and tact," Greg joked. Rose nearly choked as everyone in the room that had actually met Sherlock snickered.

Rose watched John comment to Sherlock that Greg was joking, but Sherlock's eyes were sparkling as he looked over as Greg stood up. His smile, before Greg started handing him a gift, was fairly genuine.

Rose had to cover her whole face as Greg handed over _the_ Sherlock Holmes hat and the whole room of reporters exploded before Sherlock could even act happy about it.

"Put the hat on!" Someone shouted, and Rose happily joined the cheering, failing miserably at hiding her immense mirth at her boyfriend being so uncomfortable in this situation. Sherlock looked over the crowd and Rose was proud of how well he was covering his scowling.

John leaned in to whisper something to him, then Sherlock was rolling his eyes and passing over the wrapping paper, putting the deer stalk hat on. As soon as it was on, Rose gave her best estate whistle and cheered. Sherlock did manage one genuine smile in her direction, but after the pictures were finished, he tore the hat off and left the station as quickly as possible, ranting to John and Rose the whole way home.

o0o0o0o0o

"Boffin?" Sherlock exclaimed. Rose looked up from her place in his chair and John looked up from where he was going over a rather impressive size stack of newspaper all about him and Sherlock. "Boffin Sherlock Holmes."

"Whats wrong with that?" Rose asked. "You are a person with complex knowledge," Rose pointed out but Sherlock still grumbled.

"Everyone gets one," John stated, looking over the newspaper Sherlock had discarded onto the pile of newspapers about him.

"One what?" Sherlock asked pacing the floor.

"Tabloid nickname. SuBo, Nasty Nick-"

"Madman," Rose said off-handedly. John looked at her curiously, and Rose bit her lip and smiled, laughing at her own joke though neither of them got it.

"You shouldn't worry," John continued, looking back to the distressed detective. "Rose and I'll probably get one soon."

"Page five, column six, first sentence," Sherlock located immediately. John started and Rose jumped out of her seat to get a look.

"No way Mycroft let my names be in the papers," Rose said, landing on the couch next to John reading over the article.

"Why is it always the hat photograph?" Sherlock asked the room, picking up the famed hat and punching it childishly. Though, Rose supposed, they were all being rather childish and self-centered at the moment.

"Bachelor John Watson," John spat out with disdain. Rose wasn't quick enough to cover her chuckle, but John couldn't tear his eyes away.

"What kind of hat is it, anyways?" Sherlock continued.

"Bachelor?" John continued. "What the hell are they implying?" Sherlock and John looked over at each other as they spoke, as if either of them were actually listening to the other.

"Is it a cap?" Sherlock asked messing with the hat, turning it this way and that. "Why has it got two fronts?"

"Its a deerstalker," John answered half-heartedly. Rose snatched the paper out of his hands and began reading.

"'Sherlock Holmes, newly famed private detective, is frequently seen in the company of bachelor John Watson. Always off to the side and out of camera shot, is Mr. Holmes elusive girlfriend, Brigadier Rose Tyler.'… elusive isn't that bad," Rose decided, hoping to remember to send Mycroft a thank you for his diligent protection of her.

"How do you stalk a deer with a hat? What am I going to do, throw it?" Sherlock ignored John and Rose, and John ignored Rose as he snatched the paper back and continued reading onto the next page.

"Confirmed bachelor John Watson," John grumbled, showing Rose.

"Is it like some sort of death Frisbee?" Sherlock imitated throwing the hat. "It's got flaps. Ear flaps, it's an ear hat, John." Throwing the hat down.

"'…Out of sight, and perhaps out of mind, Rose Tyler'?!" Rose nearly screeched as she interrupted him, throwing the paper down and standing up to pout in the kitchen doorway.

"OK, this is too much. We need to be more careful," John proclaimed. Sherlock looked curiously at Rose then back to John.

"What do you mean, careful?" Sherlock asked, the tone in his voice pointing to a high possibility he was about to insult John's intelligence.

"I mean," John started, picking up the discarded hat, "this isn't a deerstalker now, it's a Sherlock Holmes hat."

Rose chuckled and shrugged. "So? It's always been that for me," John ignored Rose but Sherlock's lips quirked a bit.

"I mean," John said more sternly to get the pair of them to focus more seriously, "that you're not exactly a private detective anymore. You're this far from famous," John held up his fingers close together, throwing the hat on the papers.

Sherlock flopped down in his seat, crossing his legs and bringing his fingers up to his lips to contemplate whatever he wanted to contemplate. "Oh, it'll pass," he said off-handedly. Rose wasn't so sure though, there was something in the air and it seemed John could feel it too.

"It better pass. The press will turn, Sherlock, they always turn, and they'll turn on you," John said it with a very serious tone and pointed at Sherlock as he said it. Not the best approach, but Rose raised her hands to her lips as well and watched silently as her two best friends grew with tension.

"It really bothers you," Sherlock said in a light air, but let his arms drop onto the seat with a smack.

"What?"

"What people say-" Sherlock said

"Yes," John interrupted with a nod.

"About me," Sherlock continued. "I don't understand. Why would it upset you?" Rose took a deep breath, because she knew he didn't mean that tone, that he didn't understand fully that John was in for the long run just like Rose was. But that didn't mean his words didn't hurt John, though he hid it well.

"Just try to keep a low profile," John said, picking up a newspaper. "Find yourself a little case this week. Stay out of the news." John turned away from Sherlock and started reading the newspaper. Sherlock turned away from John and brought up his fingers to his lips to think, while Rose stayed in the kitchen doorway watching them. Sherlock glanced up to her and raised an eyebrow, to which she smiled a small smile back.

"Out of sight and out of mind Tyler," Sherlock muttered with a shake of his head, his emotions opened to her so she felt him teasing her, though she still grumbled and rolled her eyes when John chuckled from the couch.


	40. Get Sherlock :)

John sat on the couch with Rose, going over the newest article in the tabloids speculating about Sherlock's past and current home life. It was noted several times that there were no public women before Rose, though they pointed out his platonic relationship with John seemed rather flaunted. Rose and John kept chuckling over bits and pieces, and John knew Rose was trying to make him not so worried about being the center of attention by telling him the crazy news articles she'd been apart of in her Dad's universe when she was the Vitex Heiress.

John had slowly gotten use to Rose's odd past, and after a short but informative talk with Sherlock, he learned to keep anything he was uncomfortable with to himself and not let Rose know. It was the least the two of them could do since they were the only two men in this universe whom she could talk about her past to. And since her sister and the Doctor had left, John happily noted that she immediately started talking about who she was more, and would bring up parts of her pasts in conversation where there had been awkward lapses before.

While the two of them were laughing about some of the absurd speculations that had spread when Pete had revealed he had a daughter years ago, Rose's phone started ringing. With a unenthusiastic sigh, Rose picked up the phone and opened it. It wasn't that she didn't love her work, it was all she talked about for a week after John was given the information about what she did, but he knew that when she wasn't at work and was at home, she didn't like to be disturbed.

"Brigadier Tyler," Rose answered, smiling at Sherlock in the kitchen who'd looked up briefly from the microscope. Her smile dropped after a few words on the other line were shared. "What?…You're kidding," Rose said, moving to the door and grabbing her coat, then into the kitchen to plop a kiss on Sherlock's head. "Okay, I'm on my way!" And with that, Rose ran out the door and down the stairs, shouting back to them she had to go into work.

"Huh," John said when the front door slammed shut. "Wonder what that was about." He stood up to look into the kitchen, but Sherlock just hummed his agreement and continued reading a book while glancing at his microscope. "I'm going to jump in the shower," John told him, though he got no response.

When John returned after his shower and shaving, the flat hadn't changed and Sherlock was still sitting, staring into a microscope, though now there was a mannequin hanging from the ceiling.

"Thats your phone," John commented as he took his chair next to the ringing cellphone. It wasn't the ringtone Rose had set to her contact, so Sherlock still sat staring at his microphone. She'd gotten fed up with him not answering her calls in favor of him ignoring boring people, and Sherlock had gotten tired of grabbing his phone at every call when she was on a mission, so they'd agreed to changing her ringtone. John was still stuck with calling him a hundred times before he answered.

Sherlock hummed his agreement. "It keeps doing that," Sherlock agreed.

John shrugged it off, they were text messages so it wasn't Greg or Mycroft so he didn't care that much either. Flipping through the paper, but catching sight of the hung manequin in the window's reflection, John commented offhandedly, "So, did you just talk to him for a really long time?"

"Oh," Sherlock said from the kitchen. "Henry Fishguard never committed suicide. Bow Street Runners missed everything!"

John heard Sherlock snap the historical records books closed and tried not to roll his eyes. There hadn't been any interesting cases, and since John had asked him not to take any small cases to stay out of the media, Sherlock had resulted to solving cases that others had messed up.

"Pressing case, is it?" John joked.

"They are all pressing till they are solved," Sherlock pointed out. John almost pointed out that that case was long since solved, but decided to stay quiet. He was wondering when Rose would get home, she would have picked up on, and continued, his joking with Sherlock.

As it was, Rose stayed at UNIT for a long time, while Sherlock was immersed in both experimenting and resolving cases, and John was left to him own devices, both bored of the newspaper, but still trying to focus on it. However, John didn't have the ability to block out everything in the world like Rose and Sherlock did when they were concentrating, so every time Sherlock's cell buzzed, he heard it.

"I'll get it, shall I?" John said, annoyed with the little thing and throwing the paper down and walking to pick up the phone. He'd didn't know what to expect when he opened the phone, mostly just texts from fanatics who'd found his number.

Sherlock's phone was blowing up with news reports of not only the Tower of London, but also the Bank of England and Pentonville Prison all being broken into. John's face dropped as he saw what text message had been sent and set to continue buzzing until it was opened. He felt his heartbeat slow, and then pick up as he turned and headed into the kitchen with the phone outstretched towards it's owner.

"Here," John said softly.

"Not now, I'm busy," Sherlock brushed him off, but John just focused on breathing.

"Sherlock," John started.

"Not now," Sherlock said more sternly, not looking up from the microscope.

"He's back." It was all that needed to be said to get Sherlock to look up at him in shock, the glint of the game and a dash of fear in his eyes. Sherlock looked at the phone before grabbing it and reading the text message.

" _Come and play. Tower Hill. Jim Moriarty x._ "

John watched as Sherlock read the message and slowly leaned back, his eyes were flickering just slightly, like he was reading quickly things John couldn't see, but it was only a moment before he was out of his seat and grabbing his and John's coat. There was no other thoughts entering either of their minds now, John knew, this was what they had been preparing and dreading for a year now, so as they headed down the stairs and John hailed a cab, he was surprised to see Sherlock on his phone texting.

"What are you doing?" He asked. When he'd pictured this moment, John saw Sherlock hailing the cab and speaking quickly, but instead he was silent and texting.

"Rose." Was all Sherlock said.

The cab pulled up and they climbed into the back, Sherlock telling him to head to the Tower of London. John looked over Sherlock's shoulder to see if he was telling Rose was what happening, but instead he read.

" _It's Moriarty-S_ "

" _I know, still at work though. Good luck. -R_ "

Once Rose replied, proving that she was fine, and her saying that she was safe at UNIT, Sherlock put his phone away and started ordering the cabbie to go different routes to get as close to the Tower of London without running into traffic or closed roads. Eventually, they came to a stop a block from the tower and couldn't get any closer, so Sherlock and John exited the cab and started running towards the police tape.

Before the police officer at the tape could say anything, Sherlock was holding up his ID like it meant much and pulling out his phone to answer Greg's call.

"Lestrade," Sherlock said, nodding back to the officer when he nodded to him. John followed behind, looking for any signs of forced entry into the famous, heavily fortified building. "Yes, we've heard and are already here. Where are you?… Alright." Sherlock hung up the phone and lead them to the front of the building where Greg stood with Donovan.

"Sherlock, John," Greg greeted, and John didn't need to have Sherlock's deductive skills to see the distress the inspector was feeling at the three break ins. "We're all in the security room observing the footage, thats why I called. This way."

Sherlock nodded and fell into step with John and Greg, Donovan followed behind, keeping her rude comments to herself in the excitement of such a large case. No matter what she said to Sherlock, sometimes everyone got a thrill out of a case.

They all filed into the security room, the video of Moriarty already up on the main screen and without a word, Greg pressed play and let them watch everything that happened from the moment Moriarty entered the room, to the moment he exited.

"A button," John heard Sherlock whisper to himself, his eyes flicking from the three times Moriarty pressed the button to the time on the clock. Then they all watched as Moriarty started writing backwards on the glass, and then pressed his gum up to it.

"That glass is tougher than anything," Greg said in a low voice.

"Not tougher than crystallized carbon," Sherlock said, somewhat solemnly as Moriarty put the diamond in his gum. "He used a diamond."

As Moriarty moved to grab the fire extinguisher and smashed into the case, Greg pressed a button and flipped the camera angle and rewinded to right before he hit the diamond.

In clear letters, Moriarty had written "Get Sherlock!"


	41. Crown versus Moriarty

Rose sat across from Mycroft Holmes, both of them looking over the most recent case they've collaborated on, the case of three of London's major buildings being broken into. They were silent as they read over the details of Moriarty's break in and all the reactions and holdings UNIT had put in place prior to figuring out it was not an alien attack.

"Efficient," Mycroft mused as he finished, Rose hummed, she'd expect no less as she had been behind every order.

As soon as the Tower of London had been broken into, she was called into work and began investigating and setting all of her teams into the city to be on stand by. After Pentonville Prison and the Bank of England were broken into, every department was on high alert and waiting for her signal that it was not in connection to UNIT. The chain of command officially did not include Brigadier Tyler or UNIT, as not everyone was allowed to know of its existence, however because not everyone was aware of alien presence on Earth and in space, no one was allowed to act until whatever was happening had been deemed "Of Earth." After spotting Moriarty, Rose had immediately released the reins and called her people back to base.

"Any news of how the other departments have chosen to handle this?" Rose asked, in the most easy way she could, but Mycroft still looked up at her and gave her a look.

"No information," Mycroft reminded her.

"I can find it if I really wanted it to, Mycroft, just tell me," Rose pointed out with a grin, trying to tease her way into finding out what Mycroft's side of the government thought of the spider.

"Not this time," was all Mycroft said, then he handed back the file and leaned back. "However, if you are set on talking about him, you should know that my brother will be expected to speak in court, the letter is on the way."

Rose nodded and put the files in her case, "we expected as much, the amount of reporters outside our door has already started increasing."

"So I've heard." Rose looked up at her colleagues tone and narrowed her eyes. "I believe, to ensure I can hold up my end of the deal, that you should move back to the facility until this blows over."

Rose chuckled at the very idea of moving out of Sherlock's flat after just getting him to let her move in, to uproot herself from their daily lives at a time he needed her most. "Thats a very large no, Mycroft," Rose said.

"Miss Tyler, I think it would be wise-"

"I don't have to listen to you, Mycroft," Rose said tersely, not wanting to get in an argument with him.

Since Sherlock and her had gotten together, her relationship with Mycroft had become strained to say the least. He didn't approve of their relationship, as her friend and as his brother, but he'd never said as such. Rose also suspected a hint of jealousy that had been brewing for a while, but couldn't determine if it was, even with her power, because of Mycroft's nearly superhuman ability to suppress his emotions. With the fame Sherlock was gaining, the topic was finally being addressed and Mycroft was making valid points to try to separate them that Rose shot down and ignored anytime they came up.

"I'm not ordering you," Mycroft replied, "I'm advising."

"Then I'm not listening." Rose stood up from her chair, and was surprised to see Mycroft stand up as well and walk around the desk.

"You should, this isn't going to end well for anyone, no matter who comes out the winner, Miss Tyler, and you're importance to Earth is too extreme to allow the tabloids to get wind of your lack of a past."

Rose brushed the fact aside, and faced down Mycroft, feeling like it was time to say what she needed to say, she no longer was tied to London simply because of their deal, so their was no reason to continue it. "I've been in the news already, they know my name, but they have nothing on me," Rose stepped around the chair and faced Mycroft closer. She saw that the proximity made him uncomfortable, but John, Greg, and Sherlock had gotten use to it, and as Sherlock's brother he would have to as well. "The deal has been expired for a while now, Mycroft," he shifted, and Rose saw him glancing at her case and badge. "The deal is not what has kept me working at UNIT, Mycroft, it never was. The deal was solely around you creating a past for me and not asking about my actual past."

"And now that Moriarty has shown us what holes are in the past I've created, you've been able to fix them and no longer need my help," Mycroft summarized, speaking as though he was finishing a business deal. Rose smiled at him and took a few steps forward and then wrapped her arms around Mycroft. He stiffened more than she thought possible and then just stood there. "Miss Tyler, please release me."

Rose laughed and stepped back, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Mycroft, the deal was create a past for me and don't ask about my real one. My fake past has been created, and I've moved past my real nightmare of a past with the help of your brother so I don't mind if you ask about it."

"Alright," Mycroft said after a moment, stepping out of her hold. Rose smiled at his unease and picked up her case to leave him to muse over what she said, glad that she had silenced his attempts to get her to move. "Miss Tyler," he called her back before she stepped out the door. "One question," he said when she turned around. She nodded her consent to being asked about her past.

"You are fully human?" Rose laughed and nodded.

"I am, just not from this Earth," Mycroft nodded, keeping his lips closed since he had said only one question. Rose felt his curiosity spike, but decided she'd let him stew on it, he was an intelligent man and thought he may be able to figure it all out on his own if given a few hints. "Goodbye, Mycroft."

o0o0o0o0o

"Are you okay?" Rose asked from the other side of the bed, both of them getting ready for their different days.

"Of course," Sherlock replied, grabbing his suit. "Where will you be today?"

"Watching it on tv from the office, I have to oversee a field mission from headquarters or else I'd be there," Rose said, he heard her walk around the bed in heels and end standing behind him.

He didn't want to talk about what was happening, and her and John knew that so it wasn't addressed. No one talked about Moriarty's promise to burn him, or that Moriarty still had a grudge against his Rose, they all walked around the flat waiting for the court date to be announced and waiting to find the verdict. However, today was the day and Rose was hovering because he wasn't hiding his emotions from her and could no doubt feel them in whatever way she managed her powers.

"John will tell you to not be an arse," Rose said. Sherlock stepped forward and looked out the window down to the street where reporters were milling around waiting for his appearance. They had to leave a hour before they needed to, to ensure Rose could get to UNIT without being tailed by one of the reporters.

"Of course," Sherlock agreed.

He took a deep breath as Rose wrapped her arms around his stomach and laid her head on his shoulder blades. He released the breath and tried to send his gratitude towards her, thanking whatever power led her to him that he found a woman he didn't need to express in words how he felt. He desperately wanted her in the courtroom, to watch the proceedings to see anything John may miss and to be in his line of vision instead of out in the world where Moriarty's cronies could get to her.

"Just be yourself," Rose whispered. "This you."

"I just need to convince them he is dangerous," Sherlock mumbled, sounding distracted even to himself.

"He was caught with the crown on his head," Rose reminded him, though it didn't need to be said. He also didn't need reassurance, they knew he should be locked away but the likelihood that Moriarty had easily walked into being imprisoned was ludicrous.

Sherlock stepped out of Rose's hold and bent down to grab his shoes, Rose took his spot and leaned against the window. "I'll be here by the time you get back."

"I know."

"I know," Rose bit her lip and Sherlock wondered, not for the first time, how this story had gone in the novels from her Original Universe. She wasn't scared of Moriarty, however she wasn't at ease with Sherlock fighting him either, and ever since the case that had named him the Hero of Reichenbach, she'd been even more on edge. He wasn't allowed to ask though, not that she would tell him. "Lets go out and get John, you two need to head out."

Rose pushed off from the window and headed to the door, fiddling with the TARDIS key around her neck, "Rose," Sherlock called to her before she opened the door. Rose paused and then turned around to face him, letting him observe her. "You won't tell me even if I ask."

Rose smiled a bit, "Will you still be able to focus at court if I don't say anything?"

"Of course," Sherlock replied honestly. Rose nodded and left the room, he followed after a minute and saw John tying his tie in the living room mirror.

Rose leaned in the kitchen doorway as John and Sherlock finished getting ready in silence. John watched Sherlock in silence and Sherlock watched him in silence, communicating with looks the words that they'd said before and words that didn't need to be said. They were facing their greatest enemy, the only man who'd been able to best Sherlock and get away with it, and it wasn't on the battlefield but in a court room. They'd skipped so many steps it felt surreal.

Sherlock led the way downstairs, Rose staying in the flat after kissing him goodbye and wishing him and John good luck. Sherlock waited at the door for John to get it, needing to go out last to have more of a buffer between him and the reporters.

"Ready?" John asked.

"Yes." They nodded and John opened the door, releasing the thunder of voices on the other side.

Lestrade had sent over several members of the force to keep the reporters at bay, so with little work they reached the car. As John got in on the other side, Sherlock glanced up and caught sight of Rose worrying her lip in the window and fiddling with her sister's key, then they were pulling away.

"Remember..." John said slowly while Sherlock looked out the window to the passing walkers.

"Yes," Sherlock interrupted him, he did remember everything he'd been told up to this date. All the lawyers, all the officers, and Rose and John, what they had all told him about getting up and speaking against Moriarty.

"Remember-" John tried again.

"Yes," Sherlock said more sternly, John paused then spoke quicker.

"Remember what they told you, don't try to be clever…"

"No," Sherlock said softly, but John didn't really hear him or ignored him as he continued.

"And please, just keep it simple and brief," John nodded his head as he spoke, reciting what they'd been told.

"God forbid the star witness in the trial should come across as intelligent," Sherlock remarked, trying not to sneer so he stayed looking out the window.

"Intelligent, fine. Let's give smartarse a wide berth," John shot back.

Sherlock was silent for a moment, he never tried to be a smartarse, only when he wanted to piss John off on purpose. He didn't know how to take into account other's feelings, so he just did what he knew. "I'll just be myself," he said, deciding to follow the one piece of advice he'd liked.

"Are you even listening to me?" John snapped.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Crown versus Moriarty," a voice over the PA spoke. "please proceed to Court 10." Sherlock scowled down at the water, hating hearing that name. Then he turned the water off and looked up to the mirror, as he went to grab a paper towel he spotted a journalist behind him, a female one in the mens bathroom.

"You're him," she said in a pathetic attempt at a breathless tone.

"Wrong toilet," Sherlock said as assertive as he could, he was not in the right mind to treat this woman with any ounce of respect with the way she was trying to disguise herself to get an article.

"I'm a big fan," she started, staring at him starstruck.

Sherlock continued to dry his hands and mumbled under his breath sarcastically, "Evidently."

"I read your cases. Follow them all," she stepped closer to him as he turned around and he kept himself from stepping away. He almost wished Rose was there to either make light of her ridiculousness or to tear the woman apart, it would at least be more entertaining. "Sign my shirt, would you?" The woman asked in a seductive way by slowly opening her jacket, and while his heart belonged to Rose, he did have a passing thought of what Irene Adler would have done if she'd watched this horrible seduction.

"There are two types of fans," Sherlock said, deciding how he would handle the press from now on.

"Oh?" She asked, still holding her jacket open.

"Catch me before I kill again, type A."

"Uh-huh," she breathed. "What's type B?"

"Your bedroom's just a taxi ride away," Sherlock deadpanned and the reporter smiled as though he was falling in her trap.

"Hmm," she hummed and took another step forward. "Guess which one I am?"

"Neither," Sherlock said after looking her up and down.

"Really?" She asked, loosing her breathiness to her voice. Obviously, she had not done her proper amount of research if this deduction surprised her.

"No, you're not a fan at all. Those marks on your forearm, edge of a desk. You've been typing in a hurry, probably. Pressure on, facing a deadline."

"That all?" the reporter asked, looking down at her purposeful smudge of ink, as though she'd tricked him.

"There's a smudge of ink on your wrist, and the bulge in your left jacket pocket."

"Bit of a get away," she mused still holding to her seductive smile.

"The smudge is deliberate. It's to see if I'm as good as they say I am." Sherlock lifted her wrist to his nose, because he did in fact have to prove he was better than they said he was. "Oil-based, used in newspaper print, but drawn on with an index finger." He looked down at her hand and noted, "your finger. Journalist, unlikely you get your hands dirty at the press. You put that there to test me."

She was actually starstruck now, and smiling a genuine, hungry smile. "Wow, I'm liking you."

Sherlock refrained from scowling. "You mean I'd make a great feature, 'Sherlock Holmes, the man beneath the hat.'"

"Kitty, Riley" she introduced her self, taking off the hat and offering her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"No," Sherlock didn't shake the woman's hand. "I'm just saving you the trouble of asking," he explained before she even had the thought to question him. "No, I won't give you an interview. No, I don't want the money." Then he moved past her quickly and for the door, but she went for a more aggressive approach as journalists are known to do and followed him with a louder, assertive tone of her own.

"You and John Watson, keeping Miss. Tyler out of the picture for a reason? Can I put you down for a no there as well?" She put her hand on the door and positioned herself between him and it. She leaned closer to him, so that he had to lean his head back but he would not step back. "Theres all sort of gossip in the press about you. Sooner or later, you're going to need someone on your side." Sherlock watched her take out her card and then have the audacity to put it in his coat pocket and slide it in. "Someone to set the record straight."

"You think you're the girl for that job, do you?" He asked as blatantly condescending as he could manage.

"I'm smart," she said defensively, then calmed down. "And you can trust me. Totally."

"Smart? Ok, investigating journalist, good," Sherlock smirked and kept his gaze on her, stepping back. "Well, look at me and tell me what you see," he directed her, watching her stumble over the order. "If you're that skillful, you don't need an interview you can just read what you need. No? Ok, my turn." He spoke before she could even attempt and started to walk around her, observing and hunting. "I look at you and I see someone who's still waiting for their first big scoop so that their editor will notice them. You're wearing an expensive skirt that has been re-hemmed twice -the only posh skirt you've got. And your nails, you can't afford to do them that often." He deducted her into the tiny woman she was, speaking at nearly his top speed. "I see someone who's hungry. I don't see smart. And I definitely don't see trustworthy, but I'll give you a quote, if you like." He picked up her recorder from her pocket and pressed record as she moved closer to him. "Three little words. You. Repel. Me." She took in an intake of breath, and he turned and left for the courtroom.

o0o0o0o0o

"How would you describe this man, his character?" The female lawyer asked him, Sherlock's eyes on Moriarty who hadn't looked at him throughout the whole proceeding. Sherlock was there on purpose, Moriarty was there on purpose, but wouldn't acknowledge it, yet.

"First mistake, James Moriarty isn't a man at all," Sherlock said in all his seriousness, staring at his actual archenemies, who slowly turned his eyes to look at Sherlock. "He's a spider. A spider at the center of a web. A criminal web with a thousand threads and he knows precisely how each and every single one of them dances." Moriarty began nodding his head, ever so slightly. Hands bound behind him, four guards surrounding his unarmed body, a whole room of witnesses, and yet he still stood like the crown stayed on his head.

"And," the lawyer cleared her throat. "how long.."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, they couldn't put Moriarty away if she wasn't going to do her job properly, she knew this answer and shouldn't be asking it. "No, no don't.. don't do that. That's really not a good question."

"Mr. Holmes," the Judge grumbled again, getting fed up with him.

"How long have I known him?" Sherlock asked for her, then looked down at her instead of the jury or the audience. "Not really your best line of enquiry." She opened her mouth and blushed but Sherlock pushed on. "We met twice, five minutes in total. I pulled a gun. He tried to blow me up. I felt we had a special something," Sherlock joked and looked up to Moriarty who was nodding his head as if considering it.

"Miss Sorrel, are you seriously claiming this man is an expert? After knowing the accused for just five minutes?" The lawyer opened her mouth to defend the two of them but Sherlock pushed on when he felt his intelligence being called into question.

"Two minutes would have made me an expert. Five was ample."

"Mr. Holmes, that's a matter for the jury."

"Oh, really?" Sherlock asked, turning his attention the people he had to convince Moriarty was a danger to the world and everyone in that room. "One librarian, two teachers, two high pressured jobs, probably the City. Forman's a medical secretary, trained abroad, judging by her short hair."

"Mr. Holmes," the judge attempted to stop him.

"Seven are married and two are having an affair, with each other, it would seem. Oh, and they've just had tea and biscuits. Would you like to know who ate the wafer?" Sherlock asked the judge, trying not to smirk, however the old man was not smiling.

"Mr. Holmes!" He exclaimed. "You've been called here to answer Miss Sorrel's questions, not to give us a display of your intellectual prowess. Keep your answers brief and to the point. Anything else will be treated as contempt. Do you think you could survive just a few minutes without showing off?!"

Sherlock turned away from being scolded to hide his smirk. He glanced up at John in the stands and looked away at the scolding look on his friends face as well. When he glanced at Moriarty, he saw an impressed and satisfied smile playing on his lips and Sherlock worried he was playing into a trap.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose paced up and down the flat waiting for Sherlock and John to arrive, she'd been distracted all day while at UNIT, having one screen always showing the inside of the courtroom so that she'd be alerted if Moriarty pulled something while Sherlock was testifying. She was good enough at her job that even with her distraction, the team she was guiding was able to locate and destroy an active space ship that had been giving off potential radioactivity. None of her employees asked why not all of the screens were focused on following the teams progress, either understanding her worry, or too afraid to call the director out.

But what was she suppose to do? Her family was in a room with the person that killed them in her universe, and she could do nothing about it. There was a fixed point that they were approaching, Bad Wolf could sense it and was reacting negatively to it. Rose was unable to see the timelines, even when she used Bad Wolf's eyes, but she felt her sisters' unease and had been clearly told by the TARDIS to stay out of Moriarty's way. Apparently, if she interfered, things went in a much worse direction, so she was stuck avoiding the trial, avoiding talking about, and practically avoiding the one person she wanted to cling to.

"What did I say?" Rose heard the door open and John's raised voice travel up the stairs. "I said 'don't get clever."

"I can't just turn it on and off like a tap," Sherlock snapped, opening the door. Rose got up from his chair, that was now also her's, and approached him.

"You were a smartarse on purpose!" John snapped.

Rose stopped in front of Sherlock and kissed him lightly, grinning at him when she leaned back. "You were brilliant," she told him. John grumbled when Sherlock sent him an 'I told you so' look. Rose put a hand on his cheek and turned his head back to her. "You have to stop pissing people off, or you'll have no one in your corner when it matters."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, but she saw that he was considering her words and that was all she asked. She stepped back and returned to her seat, John taking his across from her while Sherlock paced.

"It was like you said it would be," John pointed out. "Sat on his backside, never even stirred."

"Moriarty's not mounting any defense," Rose concluded, sharing a look with Sherlock.

"Bank of England, Tower of London, Pentonville, three of the most secure places in the country, and six weeks ago, Moriarty breaks in, no one knows how or why. All we know is-"

"He ended up in custody," Sherlock gave John the same look he'd given Rose a moment ago, however Rose had to cover her smile when John scowled back.

"Don't do that," John snapped.

"Do what?" Sherlock asked, pausing in his pacing, ending up between Rose and John.

"The look," Rose offered.

"What look?" Sherlock looked between them and John rolled his eyes.

"You're doing the look again."

"Well, I can't see it, can I?" Sherlock pointed out, while John pointed at the mirror that was right behind Sherlock. Sherlock turned around to look, then shrugged and turned back to John. "Its my face."

"Yes, and it's doing a thing. You're doing a 'we both know what's really going on here' face."

"Well, we do," Sherlock replied incredulously. Rose held in her laugh and said calmly to John.

"John," she said, and he turned to look at her with his 'i hate your boyfriend' look. "Moriarty is a genius just like Sherlock, do you think you could get Sherlock to go somewhere, such as prison, if he didn't want to?"

Realization flitted across John's features and he looked up at Sherlock's 'we know whats going on her' expression and said, "Moriarty is in a prison cell, because he chose to be there."

"It's part of his scheme, somehow," Sherlock agreed, then continued pacing. "if he wanted the jewels, he'd have them. If he wanted those prisoners freed, they'd be out on the streets. But instead he made sure everyone knew he could have had them."

Rose watched Sherlock and John think it over for the rest of the night, feeling their tensions but not having any way of making them feel better. She thought she knew what Moriarty was up to, and suspected Sherlock did as well, but nothing would be confirmed until they heard the verdict either tomorrow or the next day. All there was left to do was wait and Sherlock was not good at that, but despite her argument that sleep would make time pass faster, when it came time to retire, John headed off to his room and Rose made herself comfortable on the couch.

"You can go to the bedroom," Sherlock said and Rose tried not to smile too much about how domestic he sounded.

"Wouldn't be able to sleep," Rose said, leaning her head against the couch's armrest and looking over to Sherlock sitting in his seat. He wasn't turned towards her as he spoke, he was still staring into that middle space.

"You've not had a nightmare in months," Sherlock pointed out, resting his head on his hands.

"Thats because you've been there," Rose argued.

Sherlock scoffed at the thought that one person could fend of a subconscious. Rose didn't mind, she knew that was the exact reason that she was able to sleep through the night. Sure, she'd healed mentally from her past and come to terms with a lot of it after being able to talk about it at length with Sherlock and John, but she worried that if she fell asleep tonight with out Sherlock there, she'd have a different nightmare about a different loved one dying. Her mind wandered to Doyle's stories too often for her to sleep alone, especially when Moriarty was currently on trial and very much in their lives.

"Don't go to the trial tomorrow," Sherlock said, possibly a hour later when Rose was drifting in and out of sleep.

"Why?" Rose mumbled, pulling the blanket up further. Through her blurry vision, she watched Sherlock turn to look at her, his emotions trying to be kept in check, but Rose felt his dread and worry.

"Rose," Sherlock said and she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes so she could focus. "Please, just this once do as I ask without needing a reason."

Rose stood up from the couch and walked over to Sherlock, still having the blanket wrapped around her as she kneeled in front of him and took his hands. "He'll come see you if he is released."

"And he will be released," Sherlock said with certainty. "You can't be here when he comes, neither can John."

Rose wanted to argue, point out that Moriarty couldn't touch her, but she wouldn't. Not because she could feel Sherlock's need for her to be out of danger, or because she agreed that they had to meet alone, but because she had two beings of Time as sisters and both of them were urging her to stay out of this as much as possible. Sherlock was giving her a way to be uninvolved, to let things run its course, and though she really, really wanted to argue, she didn't.

"Don't let him hurt my heart either," Rose whispered, leaning her head down against his knees and closing her eyes, praying to all the deity's she knew in the multi-universe, not to take this man away from her like they'd taken everyone else.


	42. UNIT

Rose, Sherlock, and John sat in the apartment, trying to appear focused on their tasks and not distracted by the looming threat of Moriarty. It had been a month since the trial and the man's visit to the flat. Sherlock couldn't be sure, but he felt as though Rose knew Moriarty had been in the flat, but she'd yet to say anything and he'd still not gotten around to telling John. Sherlock just didn't know what to think. Moriarty owed him a fall to fix the final problem, but Sherlock didn't know what that meant, yet.

Sherlock glanced up from his experiment towards Rose, who was going over paper work for UNIT. He wanted to divorce himself from his feelings until he solved his case with Moriarty, but with Rose around it was impossible, when Rose was around he didn't even want to if he could. And that was dangerous, for the both of them, but it was how he'd always been with her. And like she'd always been with him, after a moment of him watching her, she looked up to meet his gaze.

"I think I may have to go into work later," she told him, glancing back down at the files.

"What for?" John asked from his position in his chair across from Rose in Sherlock's.

"We recently settled an alien in London, but from the reports from those assigned to watch him, he doesn't seem fit to live on a Level Five planet without proper supervision. I'm not about to provide that either, not when I know his home planet is still perfectly able to care for him." Rose explained, flitting through the alien's file.

Sherlock suppressed a chuckle when John replied with a simple, "oh." Rose smiled at them both, then jumped when Sherlock's phone pierced the silence.

"Here, Sherlock." Rose grabbed his phone and tossed it into the kitchen over John's head.

Sherlock grumbled because he hadn't wanted to answer, but caught the phone anyway and brought it up to his ear.  
"Sherlock," Lestrade's voice said on the other line.

"Lestrade."

"There's been a murder, I mean a kidnapping. Well, really-"

"Well which one is it?" Sherlock snapped, thinking this was pure incompetence.

"We need you to come down and look at this, I'll send John the address."

"But what happened?"

"You'll see." Then Lestrade hung up. Sherlock did his best not to roll his eyes, thinking he was being tricked into helping a small case because Mycroft told Lestrade to get him out of the house. Well, there was nothing better to do.

"Lestrade is sending you an address, John." Sherlock stuffed the phone in his coat pocket as he shrugged it on. John stood up from his chair and grabbed his phone, opening a text message.

"Whats happened?" John asked, taking the offered coat and grabbing his shoes.

"Lestrade isn't sure if its a kidnapping or a murder."

"What?" Rose said, standing up as well. "There is quite a large difference between those two."

"I know that, though he may not." Sherlock saw her putting her files away. "Are you coming with us?"

Rose shook her head, "No, I'm going to head into UNIT if you two aren't going to be here." Sherlock nodded, accepting her slight peck on his cheek before she headed into their room to change out of her comfortable clothes.

Sherlock turned back to John, and they headed down the stairs and out of the flat. Sherlock hailed a taxi while John looked over the address on his map app.

"It's outside the city, I hope that means they're paying for this ride," John remarked as a taxi pulled up to the curb and the pair climbed in, John reading out the address to the cabbie.

They arrived at a large country estate that's slightly outdated style implied an older member of the family is, or was, still alive who asked to keep the style or was living in the past. Or, most likely, wasn't as lucid in their old age and the family kept the old fashion to make them more comfortable. However, when they pulled up to the front of the house, where Lestrade and his useless team was waiting with an old woman, there was no other worried family members around.

"Lestrade," Sherlock greeted, striding up to the group.

"Sherlock." Lestrade nodded, then he introduced the older woman, weeping woman. "This is Mrs. Grant, we're here because of her granddaughter."

"Murder or kidnapping?" Sherlock asked, ignoring the increase in volume from the old woman at his bluntness. Lestrade and John gave him an annoyed look but neither said anything to reprimand him.

"We're leaning more towards kidnapping, but the girl, Scarlett, is injured badly." With that, Lestrade led the way into the backyard, which had the same outdated style, but also had a child's toys scattered around, along with the blood and paw prints all over the patio.

There was a lot of blood, too much for there not to be a body somewhere close by, but with the officers wondering the grounds, they would have found a blood trail by now, even with their incompetence. If there was no blood trail, then whoever was bleeding no longer is, but for a little girl this was enough blood to mean she bled out. So, the kidnapped child wasn't the injured one.

"Where's Anderson?" Sherlock asked after looking over the scene for a moment. A few minutes later, Anderson was summoned, with his portable DNA Analysis and Sherlock got his answer. "It's not a human's blood, probably from the wolf that was used to stage an animal attack."

"We knew it wasn't an animal attack," Donovan snapped from behind Sherlock. Sherlock turned around and waited to hear their simple deductions with raised eyebrows. "The grandmother has bruising on her arms. From hands, not paws."

Sherlock grinned manically, and strode towards the grandmother, already anticipating the information he could gleam from the bruising. He felt the world fade away as it was just him and his case, as his mind took in a deep breath and stopped tearing itself up as he and it were able to show off just how good he was. With the bruises, he could get hand size, and thus height and possibly weight, from there, they'd use the camera's he'd spotted and find a match, to at least find a footprint, then he'd go from there.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

After reading over the files, and getting a report from the team assigned to the Stigorax, Rose had thoroughly cussed herself out for her idiocy. She was never going to get her promotion to General after a silly mistake like this. Trusting that a Stigorax would stay docile was a rookie move that proved how far her mind was from work lately. She needed to remember what had made her keep living before she found Sherlock, what gave her a purpose. Yes, she loved Sherlock, and was worried about Moriarty's next plan, but she had a whole planet she needed to protect as well.

The Stigorax was a species native to Terra Alpha, and in her Universe the Seventh Doctor had found them when they were on the verge of extinction. They are rat-like carnivores that feed on practically any source of meat and the Pipe People of Terra Alpha are extremely frightened of them, though many have been tamed, such as the one Rose was dealing with.

This Stigorax, or Rax, as his owner called him, had been perfectly peaceful when the Pipe Person, Ned, had asked permission to let it roam in the pipes of London while Ned was on Vacation in our neighboring Galaxy. Rose remembered being hesitant, but Rax had given no indication of being violent, and had even walked around UNIT unleashed for a hour so Ned could prove he didn't attack people without cause. Now she had to go retrieve Rax and put him in a cage until Ned returned from his vacation next week.

Shaking her head again, Rose knew she should have seen this coming. "Engage to capture, not harm," Rose told Team 3 as they approached the entrance to the sewer, tranquilizers and portable prisons in hand.

She didn't mind working with a team that wasn't her elite, she'd trained most of them herself anyways, but she did find it hard to move around in lower teams as they stared at her more as director than Team Leader. It couldn't be helped though, her team was currently in America assisting, and herding, a Judoon sent to capture a Saturnynian. It was the only mission she'd ever given up, but it'd started right before the trial, and she needed to be in London.

"Director," a hesitant voice spoke in her ear piece. "Cameras show members of the Scotland Yard approaching the alley."

"Have someone order them away, then," Rose whispered back. Her and Team 3 froze when the sound of scurrying feet followed her whisper. "Steady."

Rax was getting closer now, and from its breathing it'd been running around for a while or was nervous. Rose knew Rax was similar to a wolf, dangerous and wild, but able to be domesticated into an intelligent pet, except Stigoraxes were nothing like cute puppies, but nasty killers that looked like rats.

"Police are trying to force their way into the alley, Director."

"Who do they think they are?" Alexis, Team 3's typical leader, whispered angrily, and Rose didn't reprimand her since she was feeling the same way.

"Tell whoever is in charge it is a UNIT case they're interrupting, and if they don't know what that means then tell them to contact their superior." Rose motioned to move forward, trapping Rax into a corner of the sewers, turning on her headlamp so they could all see the nasty thing.

"Director, they're insisting, and are asking for you by name."

"What?" Rose snapped in a more estate accent than she'd had in a long time. At that moment, Rax leaped forward, all of Team 3s tranqulizer shots missing as he aimed for Rose's head.

Rose gave a growl of frustration, and shot the rat in it's chest, throwing down a Portable Prison that caught it as it fell to the ground. "Get him back to UNIT and into the basement, send someone down with a steak of something. I won't have that Pipe Person complaining we didn't treat his pet nicely," Rose ordered the team, inspecting the scratch Rax had managed to make on her bicep before falling to the ground asleep. "Then all of you are going to the range to get practice in, that was pathetic."

Rose looked each member in the eye, failing at containing the Tyler Temper at so many mistakes and mishaps a simple mission had gone through. She was ready to tear through everyone in the alley above them.

After taking off the outer clothes she'd put on upon entering the sewers, Rose reentered the alley where UNIT had set up, glaring at anyone who looked at her and marching to the mouth of the alley where the UNIT van had set up to keep people away. She didn't stop or falter when, instead of seeing only Greg throwing around her name, she saw Sherlock and John there as well. Actually, nearly all of Doyle's favorites were watching her approach angrily while being held at gun point by Team 6.

"I will say this only once," Rose ground out, staring at each of them angrily. Greg and John seemed guilty at being a bother to her, while Anderson and Donovan were trying not to look too jaw dropped. Sherlock had this determined glint about him that said he was giving no thoughts to others at the moment, only at solving this case. "Leave the premisses, or be escorted to your homes by these lovely men and women."

"We have reason to believe a suspect on one of our cases is here, or at least his victim," Donovan explained. "You can't kick us out and hinder an investigation."

"Oh? Watch me." Rose narrowed her eyes then turned to Greg. "Call your superior, then call his superior, then tell her to call her superior, then we'll talk about letting you past my guards."

"Come on, Rose," Greg started, and it took all of her effort not to let her eyes flash in her anger. Before she could say anything, Sherlock but in.

"I know she is here, I tracked a little girl to this location," Sherlock explained with all his bravado and vanity. Rose could have choked him.

"UNIT has been here all day, there is no child in this alley." Except that as she said it, someone in her earpiece was asking for help because they'd found a child behind the van with nothing but a red rain coat on. Rose closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and tried, very hard, to reel in her anger. When she opened them, she was once again in control. "Sherlock and John only, the rest stay here. Team 6, at ease." Simultaneously, the guns were dropped but the officers of the Scotland Yard were still watched carefully as Rose led Sherlock and John further into the alley and past the van that obscured most of the happenings of the mission from view.

Rose marched ahead, replying into the earpiece that she was on her way with two cleared men who would handle the situation. She was given an affirmative that they'd received her message before she no longer heard the chatter in her ear. Sherlock and John fell into step next to her, but said little as she was practically shaking in anger. As they walked around the van, John's head was on a swivel taking in all of the alien technology the IT were using, though he and Sherlock both stopped when Alexis appeared out of the sewers with Rax asleep in his cage.

"Oh my god," John gasped.

Rose grabbed both of their arms and tugged them along. "Do not embarrass me more than you two already have," she hissed at them. "Its only a Stigorax, and it's neutralized so its no better than a big rat right now."

"Thats what hurt you?" Sherlock asked, an edge to his tone that had her sending him a scathing glare.

"What led to me getting hurt was having my guards inform me a nosy detective was demanding to be let into a UNIT investigation because he thinks he has special privileges as the Director's boyfriend," Rose snapped angrily, but he didn't look apologetic in the least.

"It all worked out," Sherlock brushed it off. Rose shook her head, now was not the time for this conversation, not with the emotions she was noticing coming from behind the van.

They walked slowly up to where a UNIT IT woman, April, was squatting, and Rose took a deep breath to collect herself against the fear and anxiety being admitted from the child behind April. Rose laid a hand on April, and slowly moved in front of her to sit down on the ground in front of the crying child.

"Hullo," Rose whispered, reaching forward to lay a hand on her shoulder. "I'm Rose, can you tell me your name?"

The child, no more than four years old, peeked her head up from where she buried it into the red rain coat and met Rose's blue eyes with another pair of blue eyes, pretty blonde curls slipping free as well. "I'm Scarlett," Scarlett whispered back. "Wheres my grandma?"

"Back at your home," John supplied when Rose hesitated, not knowing the fate of the grandma.

"Would you like to go see her?" Rose asked, opening her arms slowly and in a welcoming way.

Scarlett nodded, and crawled out from behind the bus and into Rose's arms. Rose stood up slowly, ensuring the red coat stayed wrapped around Scarlett, then started walking back to the mouth of the alley, trying to keep Scarlett from seeing anything too alien.

"There are some nice people here who are going to take you back to your grandma, okay, Scarlett?" Scarlett nodded, but held onto Rose's shirt tighter. "They're police officers who are going to take very good care of you, who've already talked to your grandma."

Rose walked right up to Donovan when she came back around the van, moving to place Scarlett into the others woman's arm. "Oh no." Donovan tried to push Scarlett towards Greg, who opened his arms easily, but with the emotions coming off of Scarlett, Rose knew better and remained staring Donovan down. "I don't do kids."

"And she doesn't do males at the moment," Rose retorted. "Open your arms, Sally." Donovan did as ordered, and took a hold of Scarlett, looking mighty uncomfortable, but all that mattered was Scarlett was relaxing.

Rose turned to Greg and said, "I want this report sent to my office, and then tell whoever heads the Scotland Yard to call me. Apparently, you all need to learn you're ranking in the British Government." The detectives and police officers all openly gaped in response, but Rose didn't care, she just turned and walked up to Sherlock and John.

"Go home," she ordered. They both frowned at being bossed around, but Rose didn't give a shite. "You've done enough here already and one of you needs to figure out how Moriarty knew what file I was working on and how he knew I'd send a mission to this alley today." They both stiffened at the name and implication, apparently not having come to the same conclusion as Rose, but that didn't matter. There was a spider somewhere in UNIT's system and she was going to sniff it out.

"You shouldn't be alone," Sherlock stated when Rose turned to walk off. "Not if he can get to you in UNIT as well."

"I'm Rose Tyler," was all Rose said, before marching back behind the van, then into the van. She didn't listen to see if the Yard or the boys had followed her orders, Team 6 would handle anyone lingering around.

"What the hell did you miss?" Rose ground out, glaring at the IT team she'd never had to yell at before. "How in the bloody multi-universe did a child kidnapper manage to hide a little girl UNDER YOUR SURVEILLANCE VAN, without you knowing?!" They all winced at her volume, but this was just the beginning. Every being that wasn't in the sewers with her, who had the one job to keep outsiders out, would be getting a tongue lashing before she went home to give the other idiots one.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock continued pacing the width of the apartment, no longer muttering, but just watching the door angrily as the hours passed by. It'd been easier to watch when he'd been sitting quietly in his chair, but as the hour got later and Rose still hadn't arrived Sherlock grew anxious and therefore started pacing.

"She's fine, Sherlock," John repeated to deaf ears. Sherlock wouldn't stop worrying until Rose was in the room with him, and even then he'd be worried about people listening in on their conversations, not with Moriarty back on the streets. Especially now that they knew Moriarty could reach Rose while she was at UNIT, which had been the safest place for her in their minds before earlier that day.

John still couldn't figure out how Moriarty knew where Rose would be, how he could have planned the murder out to coincide with Rose's realization that she needed to go on her mission. It all seemed too last minute for Moriarty to not have been privy to earlier information, but then even Moriarty didn't know about the aliens in London.

A quarter to midnight, they heard the front door open then slam closed, despite even John knowing those stomps came from Rose, Sherlock still opened the door to check. John stood up and caught the dirty look Rose gave Sherlock as she reached the last step and pushed past.

"Well? How did he do it?" Rose snapped at Sherlock, going into the kitchen and grabbing the brandy instead of her typical night tea.

"Scarlett was attacked by a wolf, and the wolf was brutally killed by her kidnapper. He took her to the alley you were set up in, and had to be tipped off by someone working in UNIT. Whoever was the rat kept UNITs actual work out of it because the kidnapper wasn't allowed far into the alley, just enough to hide the girl and make it obvious she'd been put there on purpose," Sherlock explained.

"Jake was the rat." Rose downed a shot then poured an actual drink to sip from. "He's been handled." John didn't ask what that meant for UNIT, he remembered what it meant in the army and imagined it was worse for an extraterrestrial agency where secrecy was of upmost importance.

"Whose Jake?" John asked instead.

Sherlock frowned, then recalled, "the man from UNIT's offices in Mycroft's tower, who you kept rejecting."

Rose nodded with a bitter role of her eyes, "Humans are so bloody predictable, it gets boring if I'm completely honest." Sherlock beamed at her comment, John relaxing as well, Rose couldn't have been too mad at them if she was joking about being superior to humans. "Oh, don't start smiling yet, Sherlock Holmes," Rose warned, an edge to her voice that had John glancing at her eyes to check and see what color they were. Though there were flecks of gold, Bad Wolf didn't seem to be fully in the room.

"What did I do?" Sherlock exclaimed, exasperated. John rolled his eyes and exited the kitchen in favor of collapsing in his chair.

John heard Rose put down her drink, then the kitchen went silent. He glanced up at the window and noticed their reflections staring at each other. That could go on for a while, he thought.

And it did, the stubborn couple angrily stared at each other while John read the newspaper and updated his blog. Neither moved or changed expressions, they just stared waiting for the other to cave and apologize.

"You know," John started, and the staring contest was broken.

"Not now, John," Sherlock snapped, he moved away from Rose and opened the fridge, moving to grab a limb to experiment on, but had to quickly extract his arm when Rose kicked the door close.

"We're not finished," Rose said.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Sherlock said again.

"You threw my name around like you throw Mycroft's around!" Rose yelled back. Sherlock just stood there, not getting it. John didn't exactly either, but he did get women, and he felt like Rose might be mad about more than just Sherlock interrupting her mission. "You don't respect your brother's position, not really," Rose explained, a bit calmer after seeing Sherlock not understanding what she was saying. "Throwing his name around implies an amount of disrespect for the position he worked hard for." Sherlock interrupted with a scoff of Mycroft working hard for anything. "He did work hard, a position like that isn't just handed over to someone who says big words and long sentences, and I worked hard for my position too. You disrespected my title today, and the agency that is practically my baby, and you had a complete disregard for my safety."

"I did not!" Sherlock defended the last point fiercely, and John had to agree with Sherlock. Rose's safety was more important than anything in the world to Sherlock, John included, a fact he'd come to terms with after the fiasco with the Doctor.

"You did! Even with the public being aware of my name or with no one being able to dig up my lack of past so far, that doesn't give you the right to pull me into the spotlight. If you're such a genius figure out another way to solve your case but leave me and UNIT out of it."

Sherlock stood staring at Rose as she came down from her anger and lecture. There was understanding in Sherlock's eyes that John easily recognized, and when Sherlock took a step forward, John left the couple alone, heading to his room to give them some privacy. He wasn't sure what was going on with Rose, but apparently Sherlock did. He could handle her, and if she needed John, she'd come to him.

John finished getting ready for bed, and by the time he was pulling back the covers he heard Sherlock's door open and close as well. He smiled to himself, happy the fight wasn't going to carry on into tomorrow, he hated when they fought and ignored each other, the rare times it happened.

He loved living with Sherlock when it was just the two of them, but Rose completed them, made it more than an unsaid brotherhood, but an actual family. Despite Moriarty on the streets and the aliens John was always looking around corners for, he'd never been happier. John figured, and prayed was right, that with a mad genius, a goddess and a doctor, nothing could separate them.

 **I would suggest rewatching this episode. I'm not going to type out everything because I'm not changing anything, and from here on out it will following it's plot-line and if you haven't seen that episode in a while it may be confusing. Plus it's just a good episode that you should watch often.**


	43. The Beginning of the End

"I'll meet you back at the flat, yeah?" Rose asked, picking up her purse and coat as they paid for their brunch. John nodded and grabbed his coat as well, then opened the door for her as they walked out from the cafe.

"What are you doing working on a weekend?" John asked, not having gotten to that question during their lunch date. He'd spent most of the time trying to put his finger on what was off about Rose the past couple of weeks, he'd even asked questions he knew the answer to to make sure she wasn't an alien in disguise. He wasn't sure if that was a possibility in her line of work, but he figured he'd double check.

"Just checking on some friends around town," Rose shrugged. John raised an eyebrow, wondering how many aliens there were hidden in London that she had help find a home. He could see how a job like that would fit Rose and make her happy.

"You'll be back late then?"

"Not too late, but tell Sherlock not to worry," Rose said, hugging John goodbye before hailing a cab. John was thankful for their weekly lunch date, he loved seeing Sherlock with Rose, but she was like a sister to John as well and having alone time set aside each week was nice.

Now if he could only figure out what was bothering her. It'd been building since the Doctor left, and John figured the alien had to have said something to her while they were alone that'd been planted in her mind and started growing. If it wasn't for her obvious love and worry for Sherlock, John would have thought she was having second thoughts about staying human and in this universe. John tried to think what could be bothering Rose, but as she always pointed out, she was Rose Tyler and he didn't think she was actually afraid of anything. Except being left alone again.

Before heading back to the flat, John headed to the ATM to take out cash for dinner, which would probably be take out again, and it was his turn to pay.

"There is a problem with your card." The ATM read, and John knew it would be a long day. "Please wait. Thank you for your patience, John." A really long day then, John thought, rolling his eyes then turning around as a black car pulled up and the door opened for him to respond to his summons.

o0o0o0o0o

"Tradition's, John," Mycroft mused in his "holier than thou" attitude, "Our traditions define us."

"So total silence is traditional, is it? You can't even say "pass the sugar"?" John asked, finding it much easier to deal with Mycroft with a heavy dose of humor and teasing, otherwise it was all worry and no play. Though the drink Mycroft was pouring was tempting as well.

"Three quarters of the diplomatic service and half of the Government front bench all sharing one tea trolly? It's for the best, believe me. They don't want a repeat of 1972. But we can talk here." John refused to roll his eyes more than three times during this encounter, so when Mycroft brought up an unknown date in allusion to something he knew that John didn't, John didn't roll his eyes at the typical Holmes antics.

"You read this stuff?" John asked, picking up the tabloids paper and falling into one of the chairs while Mycroft remained standing, setting his untouched drink down.

"Caught my eye."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Saturday, they're doing a big expose."

"I'd love to know where she got the information," John mused to himself, the only people who knew Sherlock as much or better than him were Rose and Mycroft, and while Mycroft was a git, he wasn't that much of a git.

"Someone called Richard Brooke, recognize the name?" Mycroft asked, and John wanted to assume it was an actual question, if it wasn't for that Holmes undertone of looking to see what you knew. Mycroft knew the answer, and wanted to know if John did.

"School friend, maybe?"

"Of Sherlock's?" Mycroft gave a laugh at the idea, though it isn't anymore likely that he had friends in school either. "But that's not why I asked you here." Mycroft kept circling the room, grabbing a stack of folders, handing one to John then pacing behind the chair. John had the passing thought that he seemed nervous.

"Who's that?" John asked when he opened the folder, taking in the foreign, bald man.

"Don't know him?"

"No."

"Never seen his face before?" John shook his head, while Mycroft continued with an amused air that didn't fit his pacing. "He's taken a flat in Baker Street, two doors down from you."

"Rose and I are thinking of doing a drinks thing for the neighbors."

"I'm not sure you'll want to," Mycroft said, with the unhappy smile he used to appear mysterious. "Sulejmani. Albanian hit squad. Expertly trained killer, living less than 20 feet from your door."

"Well, it's a great location. Jubilee Line's handy," John continued his joke, though he knew Mycroft was heading towards another serious, worrying main point that he wasn't going to like. John would continue his antics though, then go home and be serious with Sherlock and Rose. Get the information, then leave Mycroft as annoyed as possible, it was a game between the three of them, though they didn't counts points like Sherlock and Rose did in their little competition.

"John..." Mycroft complained.

"What's it got to do with me?" Nothing, John thought internally, it's either Rose of Sherlock he's worried about.

"Dyachenko, Ludmila." John let go a deep, irritated breath.

"Actually, I think I have seen her."

"Russian killer. She's taken the flat opposite."

"Okay. I'm sensing a pattern here."

"In fact," Mycroft handed over all of the folders, "four top international assassins relocate within spitting distance of 221B. Anything you care to share with me?"

John chuckled and leaned back, "I'm moving?" He joked with an air of uncaring, Mycroft frowned, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"It's not hard to guess the common denominator, is it?"

"You think this is Moriarty?"

"He promised Sherlock he'd come back," Mycroft reminded him, seeming surprised John wasn't agreeing with him

"If this was Moriarty, he would be dead already."

"If not Moriarty, then who?" Mycroft asked, too serious to be entertaining. If it wasn't Moriarty, then John was sure he was picturing enemies after Rose now.

"Why don't you talk to Sherlock if you're so concerned about him?" Mycroft made a face and John used humor instead of annoyance. "Oh, God don't tell me."

"Too much history between us, John. Old scores. resentments."

"Nicked all his Smurfs? Broke his Action Man?" Mycroft gave a way too annoyed expression for John not to have guessed correctly. John laughed, shaking his head and putting the folder on the side table before standing up. "Finished."

"We both know what's coming, John." Mycroft mused quietly, his worried and serious tone making him stop from walking away. "Moriarty is obsessed, he's sworn to destroy his only rival."

"So, you want me to watch out for your brother because he won't accept your help."

"If it's not too much trouble," Mycroft said with a placating smile. "Rose should be watched as well."

John rolled his eyes, walking to the door, opening it, then saying, "I'll be sure to tell her you're worried about her capabilities again."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"How did he get past the CCTV? If all the doors were locked," John asked, turning towards Sherlock

"He walked in when they weren't locked," Sherlock answered simply.

"A stranger can't just walk into a school like that."

"Anyone can walk in anywhere if they pick the right moment. Yesterday, end of term, parents milling around, chauffeurs, staff. What's one more stranger among that lot? We was waiting for them. All he had to do was find a place to hide," Sherlock explained, surprised John hadn't figured that piece out, he was sure Lestrade had assumed as much.

They pulled up in front of Bart's and exited the cab, John handling the fee as Sherlock headed inside, flashing his ID to the security guard and planning to march down to Molly's lab when he heard a feminine chuckle that didn't belong to the male guard on duty but was instead very familiar.

"Rose!" John exclaimed happily while Sherlock backed up a few steps and saw Rose sitting rather close to the security guard who was clearly in love with her. "What are you doing here?" John asked as Sherlock was still staring at the distance between Rose and the guard, whose name tag read "Steve."

"Finishing up some work here and then I'm off. Are you two going down to see Molly?"

"We've got a case," Sherlock said dismissively, starting to turn away. Rose chuckled, which only had Sherlock getting angrier and more jealous.

John glanced between the two nervously, then him and Sherlock watched as Rose leaned closer to Steve and whispered something in his ear. Sherlock was about to call them out as his blood started to boil, but then Steve chuckled and stared him and John until he had their attention. Then he blinked.

While John flinched back from the yellow eyes with slits, Sherlock relaxed and gave a fond smile towards Rose who was laughing at their surprise. Sherlock reached into the security guard cubicle and took Rose's hand, lightly kissing it with a wink. "We'll be downstairs when you're finished with work," he told her. She chuckled, but Sherlock was proud to see his actions had made her blush.

When John had recovered, with the help of Steve blinking away his true eyes, he followed Sherlock down to the labs, both of them nearly missing Molly as she was heading out for an early dinner.

The three of them immediately started examining the oil Sherlock had taken from the crime scene, hoping to narrow down the places that the kidnapper had been and will be again. John was somewhat helpful, having picked up enough lab skills over the past year to not be incompetent, but it was mainly Molly and Sherlock figuring out all the particles that had been on the shoe of the kidnapper.

Sherlock focused on his task, feeling very much like he had when Moriarty had put him against the clock the last time they encountered each other. That had ended with both him and John almost being blown up, and apparently, this encounter was suppose to end in a fall.

"How is it going so far, boys?" Rose exclaimed with a bright smile as she strode through the doors. She walked over to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek while looking over the work he'd already finished. "Chalk, asphalt, brick, and vegetation, now doesn't that make things easy," Rose joked, though Sherlock didn't laugh along, trying to figure out what the last molecule could be. Rose offered to help, but Sherlock lied and said he had it, hoping the less involved she was with the cases Moriarty sent his way, the less attention Moriarty would send her way.

"What did you mean, 'I owe you'?" Molly asked, turning away from the screen and looking at Sherlock as Rose and John went to sit down. "You said, 'I owe you.' You were muttering it while you were working," She asked, sounding unsure of herself.

"Nothing, mental note," Sherlock lied, focusing on the microscope and keeping his voice down as well as his emotions, knowing if he focused too hard on the thought of Moriarty, Rose would pick up on his concern and come over.

"You're a bit like my dad," Molly mused. "He's dead. Oh, sorry," Molly winced and stuttered.

"Molly, please don't feel the need to make conversation. It's really not your area." Sherlock put her down, more to avoid wherever she was trying to make the conversation go than to avoid a conversation in general. She was usually pleasant to work with, but was stuttering over her words more than usual and seemed to be tiptoeing around him.

"When he was dying, he was always cheerful, he was lovely. Except when he thought no one could see." She paused, and he could feel her staring at him. "I saw him once. He looked sad."

"Molly..."

"You look sad. When you think they can't see you." Molly pushed on, both of them glancing over to Rose and John who were laughing about something. The sight warmed Sherlock's cold heart, but Molly's next words distracted him from his two sources of happiness. "Are you okay?" Sherlock turned to Molly, moving away from the microscope. "Don't just say you are, because I know what that means, looking sad when you think no one can see you.

"You can see me."

"I don't count," She replied with a bitter smile that confused Sherlock to no end. "What I'm trying to say is that if there's anything I can do, anything you need, anything at all, you can have me." She smiled, and Sherlock frowned. "No, I just mean.. I mean... If there's anything you need. Its fine."

"But, what could I need from you?" Sherlock asked, but he was thinking about it, and it made sense. He was aware enough to admit that he wanted John and Rose to never see faults in him, and while both had seen him at his worst, he tried to avoid those moments at all costs. He understood what Molly was offering, and he thought he might take it, not for his sake but for theirs.

"Nothing. I don't know." Molly continued to stutter, and Sherlock let her think he wouldn't take her up on the offer, even though he thought he may have to sooner than either of them thought. "But you could probably say thank you, actually."

"Thank you," Sherlock hesitantly replied, confused on how the conversation had taken this turn.

"I'm just going to go and get some crisps. Do you want anything?" Sherlock opened his mouth to reply but Molly interrupted him. "It's okay. I know you don't."

"Well, actually, maybe I'll..."

"I know you don't." She interrupted again, leaving the room quick enough to catch Rose's attention. Sherlock watched Molly leave the room, thinking back to I.O.U. and the fall Sherlock was suppose to take. He was putting the pieces together faster now, and had a suspicion as to what Moriarty wanted to happen, something to hurt everyone Moriarty despised and wanted out of the picture. With one fall, they'd all fall.

"Sherlock." Rose placed a soft hand on his arm, pulling his eyes away from the door and to her. She was frowning up at him, no doubt feeling his warring emotions in the air as he was too confused to hide them from her. She lifted the hand on his arm to his face and looked in his eyes trying to discern what was wrong. "What did Molly say?"

"That she was here to help if I needed anything," Sherlock answered honestly, sure Rose would be able to tell if he lied. He pulled out of her touch but caught her hand so she would stop worrying.

"That was nice of her," Rose said hesitantly, still watching him. "You seem upset by it."

Sherlock shrugged it off, pulling his emotions closer, then for the first time, trying to manipulate the emotions and give off a different emotion than what he was feeling. He didn't know if it would work, until Rose relaxed a little and looked significantly less worried now that she was feeling his determined and at ease feelings that typically accompanied a case. Sherlock felt bad for deceiving her but knew it was for the best.

"Just distracted," Sherlock answered, squeezing her hand before dropping it and turning back to his experiment. Rose stayed with him for a few more minutes, then decided to leave them to it and headed to her office, sending him one last worried look before she left.


	44. Sir Boast A Lot

"This is my cab, you get the next one," Sherlock ordered, moving for the cab door and opening it.

"Why?" John asked.

"You're going to talk." Sherlock shut the door behind him and the cab drove away.

The case was solved, at least partially, the kidnapper hadn't been apprehended but the kids were safe so Sherlock felt he'd succeeded, and yet it didn't feel finished. There was something wrong. He knew the case had been set up for him to solve, and he'd done just that, but something was wrong. This wasn't the same as last time he went up against Moriarty, but he was racing to solve the cases anyways. Somehow, he was doing everything Moriarty wanted him to do.

Lost in his thoughts, the cab tv randomly turned on, playing a mixture of static and a cheap news station. "Could you turn that off, please?" Sherlock snapped to no answer. "Can you turn this off, pl-" Sherlock stopped as in between the static, a familiar, evil face started to appear.

" _Hello, Are you ready for the story? This is the story of Sir Boast-A-Lot. Sir Boast-A-Lot was the bravest and the cleverest knight at the round table. But soon, the other knights began to grow tired of his stories about how brave he was and how many dragons he'd slain. And soon they began to wonder, are Sir Boast-A-Lot's stories even true?_

 _"Oh, no."_

 _"So one of the knights went to King Arthur and said, -I don't believe Sir Boast-A-Lot's stories. He's just a big old liar who makes things up to make himself look good.' And then, even the King began to wonder... But that wasn't the end of Sir Boast-A-Lot's problem. No. That wasn't the final problem. The end._ " The video stopped and resumed the previous channel.

"No, stop! Stop the cab. Stop the cab! What was that?" The cab pulled to a stop and Sherlock jumped out of the car. "What was that!" He asked, grabbing a hold of the driver side door.

The driver turned his head, and Moriarty smiled back at him. "No charge." He smirked, then hit the gas and drove away. Sherlock made chase, until he reached the end of the road and stared after the cab, his mind whirling. They didn't believe him, he always knew Donovan and Anderson were simplistic, petty people, but underestimated how deluded goldfish could allow themselves to be.

"Look out!" Someone shouted, drawing Sherlock out of his horrifying realizations in time for someone to grab him and pull him out of the way of a car. The two of them rolled to the side, the man scaring Sherlock enough that he kept his hand out to keep him away, catching his breath and staring at the retreating car and then the man that saved his life.

"Thank you," Sherlock said, offering his hand, but as the unknown man moved to take it, shots rang out in the alley.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The taxi dropped Rose off in front of 221B Baker St, and she exited the cab, her eyes on Sergeant Donovan who was standing in the doorway, looking up at the stairs expectantly. Rose paid the cabbie then turned towards the door, crossing her arms and watching as Greg walked down the stairs, giving a dirty look to Donovan.

"Everything alright?" Rose inquired, drawing their attention. "John texted and said the kids were safe, thats good, yeah?"

Donovan rolled her eyes and moved past Rose angrily while Rose lifted a delicate eyebrow at Greg. "Sorry, Rose," was all he said, before getting in the car. Rose didn't wait to watch them drive off, but hurried inside.

"Sherlock," John's raised voice carried down the stairs. "I don't want the world believing you're..." Then she couldn't hear their lowered voice until she reached their landing, where she heard them arguing over each other.

"You're worried they're right about me."

"No."

"That's why you're so upset, you can't even entertain the possibility that they might be right, you're afraid that you've been taken in as well."

"No, I'm not."

"Moriarty is playing with your mind, too," Sherlock said, and Rose entered the room, seeing John glaring at Sherlock and feeling Sherlock's frantic and desperate emotions flying around the room. "Can't you see what's going on!" Sherlock yelled, hitting his hand on the desk. They stared at each other for a moment, then Rose moved out of the doorway and towards John, who took one look at her, then turned back to the window.

"What is going on, then?" Rose asked the room, leaving a calming hand on John's shoulder while looking at Sherlock.

"Moriarty is planning to ruin me by convincing the world that I've faked everything, faked my intelligence and am the actual criminal. He convinced Donovan and Anderson easily enough with their tiny brains, but then their combined effort has swayed Lestrade enough that he just left to get a warrant for my arrest," Sherlock quickly explained, his eyes flitting between Rose and John.

"And you think John is doubting you?" Rose clarified, stepping away from John and around the desk to lean on the window by Sherlock, looking out for when Lestrade returns.

"No, I know he is for real," John said lowly, almost a growl.

"A hundred percent?" Sherlock said, turning back to the laptop open in front of him.

"Well, nobody can fake being such an annoying dick all the time," John snapped. Rose bit her lip, chuckling a bit when she felt the tension in the air decrease a bit at his jab that Sherlock gracefully accepted.

"I dunno," Rose mused, stepping away from the window and leaning over the back of Sherlock's chair, getting a look at the camera feed he was fiddling with. "Nothings stopping a fake from being a dick as well," she quipped. John chuckled while Sherlock just gave her an unamused side glance. "Well, whats this, then?"

"Did John tell you about our new assassin neighbors?" Sherlock asked.

"Didn't have too, I saw them all move in a month ago," Rose replied with a satisfied smirk. "figured they were here for me, but I guess my celebrity boyfriend is more popular at the moment."

"I've got something that all of them want, so they are watching me, but watching each other as well." Sherlock continued typing away at Johns computer, trying to end the feed.

Rose reached across, pulling a USB out of her pocket and plugging it into the laptop, and with a few clicks, "that should stop them for a bit," she said, her and Sherlock watching the Bad Wolf virus attack the other servers. "Does this have something to do with your secret visitor?" Rose asked looking down and locking eyes with Sherlock. She'd known Moriarty had visited Sherlock after he'd been released, all the signs in the room were clear, but the give away had been Sherlock's emotions he'd still been struggling to control when she saw him after it. He didn't seem surprised that she knew, despite neither of them having brought it up.

"Has to be, but I don't know what they want if not to kill me, and since one of them saved my life at the cost of their own tonight, that doesn't seem plausible," Sherlock explained.

"Saved your life?" Rose repeated, moving back and crossing her arms. "What have you been up to?"

"Not looking both way before I cross the street," Sherlock quipped to ease Rose's worries. He stood up from the desk and sat down in his chair, lifting his hands to his thinking pose while John paced and Rose typed away on John's computer.

She didn't have anything to do on the computer, she didn't have the time to hack into the Yard's database and keep them from arresting Sherlock, she didn't trust Mycroft not to mess something up if she contacted him, and she'd loose credibility if she even asked UNIT to help, even if this was their area. Instead, she just followed the Bad Wolf virus into the assassins servers and browsed through their information while they were busy fighting her virus.

This was it, she knew. This was the battle of wits between Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes, and she wasn't allowed to interfere despite wanting to with all her heart. The whole day, she'd wanted to spend it with Sherlock, having a feeling she was needed, but things at work kept popping up, keeping her at the office and in the field longer than expected. Now, she comes home to the police going to get a warrant for his arrest and to the information that the assassins she'd been watching for weeks were here for Sherlock not her. For weeks she'd been dreading this, dreading the fall, and now they were approaching the edge.

*RING* Sherlock and John turned towards Rose as she picked up her phone and answered it without looking at the caller ID. "Brigadier Tyler speaking."

"We're on our way, Anderson and Donovan took it to the Chief and we have a warrant for Sherlock's arrest. It won't just be the three of us either, everyone's coming."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you, then," Rose replied with a wolfish smile Greg couldn't see, before hanging up. "They're all coming here now," Rose told John and Sherlock. "Probably the whole force."

"Queuing up to slap on the handcuffs," John scoffed. "Every single officer you ever made feel like a tit. Which is a lot of people, I might add," John told Sherlock, continuing to pace while Sherlock stood up.

"Yoo hoo!" came Mrs. Hudson's voice as she came into the room holding a package. "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting? Some chap delivered a parcel. I forgot. Marked perishable. I had to sign for it." Mrs Hudson handed it to John, him and Sherlock seeming to recognize the envelope and seal. Mrs Hudson turned to Rose as she was the only one still listening, "Funny name, German, like the fairy tells." Rose smiled at the older woman fondly, then stepped up next to Sherlock to look at the burnt ginger-man cookie he pulled out of the envelope.

"Burnt to a crisp," Sherlock mused, then looked out the window as the sounds of sirens got closer and stopped outside their door.

"What does it mean?" John asked just as there was a loud knock on the door and Mrs. Hudson went to see who it was.

"Sherlock," Rose whispered while John angrily followed Mrs. Hudson and the voice of Sally Donovan yelling for Sherlock reached their ears. Sherlock turned to Rose, holding his scarf and wrapping it around his neck. They stared at each other for a moment that seemed to last much longer than it did, then Rose stepped forward and lightly kissed him, whispering against his lips, "I love you," then she headed downstairs.

"Don't barge in like that!" Mrs. Hudson admonished Greg and Donovan as they walked into the Entrance hall.

"Have you got a warrant?" John snapped, Rose leaned against the railing, staring down Donovan who was looking much too smug for her liking. Greg let out a deep breath but John pushed on, "Well, have you?"

"Leave it, John," Greg advised as Donovan started for the stairs before spotting Rose staring down at her threateningly.

"Me?" Mrs. Hudson gasped, but John shook his head.

"I'm going to need to see that warrant, Greg, or I'll have to ask you to leave my home," Rose told him, adopting her Brigadier Tyler persona.

"Rose..." Greg said, but Donovan whipped out the warrant happily, smirking at Rose.

"Not too happy to find out the man that's warming your bed is a fraud, are you, Ms. Tyler?" Donovan sneered. John immediately shouted at Donovan, as did Greg for her words, but Rose simply smiled at the other woman.

"You sure enjoy saying stupid things, Donovan, though, I will remind you to remind yourself who your superiors are, or I'll take your badge before you can say Brigadier." Rose turned and walked back up the stairs, walking into the living room and seeing Sherlock now wearing his coat and patiently waiting.

Greg stepping in front of Sherlock while Donovan stood in the corner and two other police officers came into the room, "Sherlock Holmes, I'm arresting you on suspicion of abduction and kidnapping." John growled as Greg read the charges.

"It's alright, John," Sherlock tried to calm John down, but emotions were too high in the air for anyone to calm down, even Rose was getting agitated and itching to smack the smirk off Donovan's face.

"He's not resisting! No, its not all right. This is ridiculous." John complained. Sherlock let them cuff him, then locked eyes with Rose again, not having to give voice to the words he was telling her.

"Get him downstairs, now," Greg ordered, and Rose didn't move as Sherlock was taken downstairs, moving past Donovan who smirked at Rose.

"You know you don't-" Rose started angrily but Donovan got in her face smugly.

"Don't try to interfere or I shall arrest you, too," she threatened while Greg told her to stand down.

"What a funny little brain you have, how do you get around with it?" Rose remarked.

"I may just enjoy this more than Sherlock," Donovan remarked, pulling out handcuffs, but Rose caught her arm and whipped it behind her back, flipping Donovan around so that when the two police officers whipped out their guns, she was in front of her.

"You boys are no fun at all," Rose smirked at the males in the room becoming increasingly anxious, then leaned in to whisper to Donovan so no one could hear. "If anything happens to him because of this, because you're pride was hurt and took the first opportunity to try and make yourself look good, I'm going to make it so you never existed." With that, Rose threw Donovan forward, then calmly walked down the stairs, passing the Chief of the Yard in the hallway while she was escorted at gunpoint into the police cab that Sherlock was leaned up against.

Rose was forced into the car, apparently being determined more dangerous than Sherlock who was still waiting. She leaned her head on the open window and looked up at him with a sheepish grin that had him chuckling. "Have your fun, then?" He asked.

"Didn't get to smack her, so no, not really," Rose shrugged, then chuckled as John was shoved against the car next to Sherlock.

"Joining us?" Sherlock asked, amused.

"Yeah, apparently it's against the law to chin the Chief Superintendent."

"Well, aren't we upstanding citizens," Rose laughed.

"There's no one to bail us out," John pointed out, though Rose could think of a few names. She watched Sherlock glance at the Dispatcher headpiece.

"I was thinking more about our imminent and daring escape," Sherlock mumbled, leaning in through Rose's window.

"What?" John asked, while Sherlock quickly kissed Rose, reaching over and pressing a button on the walkie that emitted a loud noise in all the ear pieces.

"I love you too," he told Rose, then reached behind him and grabbed a gun from one of the officers. Rose leaned back in the car, chuckling to herself as she watched her boys make their daring escape, and actually started laughing like a maniac when Sherlock called John his hostage.

"Get after him, Lestrade!" The Chief ordered, but before anyone could take off, Rose pushed open the door, disposing of the handcuffs on her wrists and smiling at all the officers.

"I hope you didn't forget about me then, Chief," Rose quipped, and half the force went for her while the other half hesitated and waited for orders. It was a long enough hesitation that Rose was confident Sherlock could get away.

"Go!" The Chief ordered the officers, while him and Lestrade walked over to Rose.

"Rose, this is Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent," Greg introduced while the Chief gave him an incredulous look for not moving to apprehend her.

"Why the bloody hell are you introducing us, Lestrade! Are you incapable of doing your job?"

"Oi!" Rose snapped, pointing her finger at the hefty man, whose nose was still bleeding from John's punch. "I may have let you take my boys because Sherlock wanted you to, but I will not have you insulting Greg, now get Diane on the phone or I'll take your badge."

"You can't do that," Donovan cried angrily, but Rose ignored her, staring the Chief down who had grown nervous at the name of his superior.

"I'm waiting, or should I call my assistant and have him call Diane for you?"

"Get her down to the station," the Chief ordered, walking away. Rose didn't budge until she saw him take out his phone and make a call.

"Greg, you're riding in the back with me, I won't have pictures getting back to the office of you idiots thinking you can take me in," Rose ordered, and Greg was intelligent enough to follow orders while Donovan looked on in shock.

The ride to the station was quiet and tense as Rose sat in the back of the car, her arms crossed as she silently fumed and worried. She didn't know where her boys were, she didn't know what Moriarty's plan was, and she had Bad Wolf and the TARDIS telling her to stay out of it.

When they reached the station, Rose got herself out of the handcuffs once again and walked inside as though she was visiting instead of being escorted inside. Luckily, the anxious officers around her didn't train their guns on her, just kept their hands on them. Unsurprisingly, Mycroft was already at the station waiting for her, along with Diane Long, Director of Law Enforcement. Within five minutes, Rose was free to go and Donovan, Anderson and the Chief were being suspended and put under investigation.

"Was all of that necessary, Ms. Tyler?" Mycroft asked as they walked back down the steps of the building towards his car.

"Well, I had fun so it wasn't entirely unnecessary."

"Back to Baker St. then?" Mycroft asked, opening the door for her.

"Well you're brother is on the run from the police with mine, so I think I'll go see Molly, maybe have a cuppa in the lab until the boys show up," Rose joked, telling the driver the address for St. Barts Hospital.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Can he dot that?" John asked, out of breath as they stormed out of the building. "Completely change his identity? Make you the criminal?"

"He's got my whole life story," Sherlock said, storming down the street and then stopping, because where could they go if he didn't know what the next step was going to be, so he started pacing instead. "That's what you do, you sell a big lie, you wrap it up in a truth to make it palatable."

"Its your words against his," John needlessly pointed out.

"He's been sowing doubt into people's minds for the last 24 hours. There's only one thing he needs to do to complete his game and that's to..." Have Sherlock confirm it with just a fall.

Information about being a fraud comes out, but instead of proving it wrong, which would be easily enough if the person was actually a genius, the fraud can't think of a way to come back from this, so he kills himself. Moriarty will make it look like Sherlock killed himself, worse, he'll actually make him kill himself.

"Sherlock?" John's voice broke through Sherlock's turbulent thoughts

"There's something I need to do," Sherlock said, walking away from John. Molly, insignificant Molly that everyone forgot. Mycroft, arch-nemesis brother that no one turns to.

"What, can I help?"

"No, on my own."


	45. On My Own

"She has really done her homework, Miss Riley," John spoke the moment Mycroft opened the door, holding up the pages in his lap. "There's things that only someone close to Sherlock could know." Mycroft opened his mouth, but really, there was no excuses or pretty words coming to mind to distract John from the truth, all there was to do was to shut the door. "Have you seen you brother's address book lately?" John continued "There's three names, yours, Rose, and mine. And Moriarty didn't get this stuff from my sister."

"John..." Mycroft started, understanding that he would have this conversation again, with the woman John had claimed as his sister and earlier that evening had claimed John as her brother.

"So, how does it work, then?" John interrupted before anything could be said. "Your relationship? You go out for a coffee now and then, eh? You and Jim? Your own brother and you blabbed about his entire life to this maniac?"

Mycroft stared at John, tried to be intimidating, but the facade fell away quickly when the guilt and regret was too much to handle. It was too much, seeing John Watson angry at him for his mistake, too much to picture Rose pacing the room, ranting, screaming, when she finds out. "I never intended... I never dreamed-" Mycroft tried not to plead for John to understand.

"This, see, this," John said quickly over Mycroft. "Is what you were trying to tell me, isn't it? Watch his back, 'cause I've made a mistake." Mycroft didn't confirm or deny, so John put the papers aside and took a deep breath. "How did you meet him?"

"People like him, we... know about them, we watch them. But James Moriarty, the most dangerous criminal mind the world has ever seen, and in his pocket's the ultimate weapon, a key code. A few lines of computer code that can unlock any door."

"And you abducted him? To try and find the key code."

"Interrogated him for weeks."

"And?"

"He wouldn't play along. he just sat there staring into the darkness. The only thing that made him open up... I could get him to talk. Just a little, But..."

"In return, you had to offer him Sherlock's life story." Mycroft remembered thinking Moriarty was obsessed with his brother, thinking talking about their childhood meant nothing and Mycroft didn't want to admit now how much he'd underestimated Moriarty's scheming mind. "So, there's one big lie, Sherlock's a fraud, but people will swallow it because the rest of it is true." John leaned forward, the soldier stance he held back on most days taking over as he stared at Mycroft, it wasn't a glare, but the stare still held an amount of hatred. "Moriarty wanted Sherlock to be destroyed, right? And you have given him the perfect ammunition."

"John," Mycroft said as John stood and looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, please," John scoffed.

"Tell her, would you?" John slammed the door behind him, leaving Mycroft to his thoughts, but only for a moment.

*RING*

Mycroft reached over and picked up the phone that never rang but was used to ring up others. On a night like this, after the conversation he'd had with John and after picking up Rose from being arrested, there was only one person left to call him.

"You love her," Sherlock stated when Mycroft answered. Mycroft closed his eyes, but kept himself from sighing or making any noise to confirm or deny it. "I've known for a year, she's suspected for longer but hasn't said anything."

"What does she need?" Mycroft asked, hoping to get to the point.

"Send her on a mission, get her out of London tonight. Richard Brooke is expecting a fall and she needs to be far away when I give it to him."

"Done," Mycroft said. Both brothers didn't say anything for a moment, but Mycroft still heard the hesitancy from his brother. "What do you need, brother mine?"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose sat in the labs of St Bart's hospital, messing with her phone while she waited for Sherlock or John to show up. She'd checked Molly's labs, then told her to call Rose if Sherlock showed up, then went to the other fully stocked lab in case Sherlock decided not to ask Molly for help.

She'd been there a hour, maybe two, when the doors open and Sherlock stepped past the threshold and stares at her. He's still the same as he was, is still healthy and determined, but theres something different, something was off about him that was familiar but couldn't put her finger on.

"What is it, Sherlock?" Rose stood from the stool she'd been sitting on, walking to him.

"Moriarty has my whole life story, he sent it to that journalist, and she is publishing it with his lies wrapped up in it so everyone will believe I'm a fraud," Sherlock explained. Rose waited a moment, expecting there to be more, because there had to be more with the expression on his face.

"Okay, so we'll prove him wrong, it'll be simple enough, people just need to test you and they'll see how intelligent you are. Or I can contact someone, put a stop to the article before it's even published," Rose assured him, thinking they were simple solutions he should have thought of already.

Before Sherlock could reply, though he didn't look like he was going to, Rose's phone rang. She pulled it out, expecting it to be John, but answered it anyways when it was Mycroft. "I'm busy Mycroft, and I just saw you."

"I'm aware, Ms. Tyler, but theres an emergency that requires you to come in."

"What kind of emergency?"

"The crack you've told me is located in Cardiff is giving off extra energy that local officials are picking up on and questioning. We need to send you in to determine what is wrong, immediately," Mycroft informed her. "A car is on the way to pick you up from St. Barts."

"Alright," Rose said, giving Sherlock an apologetic look, wondering if this was Bad Wolf getting her away from interfering with events. "I'll have to stop by Baker St to pack, then have my team-" Rose stopped abruptly, pulling the phone away from her and staring at Sherlock.

He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "whats wrong?" Rose held up a hand to shut him up, staring at his expression, digging into his emotions, as familiarity turned to recognition. Rose hung up on Mycroft who was calling her name and started to glare at Sherlock.

"'I am nothing like him.'" Rose repeated, and Sherlock swallowed at having his words thrown back at him. "You told me, don't compare you to the Doctor, said you would never do what he did to me."

"Rose-"

"No!" Rose shouted at him, picking up a pad of paper and chucking it at him in anger. "You can't just send me away! You can't! I'm Rose Tyler, not some silly shop girl you can trick into leaving for you to sacrifice yourself and save the day!"

"I know you're not a silly shop girl, Rose," Sherlock said, looking defeated and devastated, but Rose didn't care, not after he tried to send her away just like Nine had done, like Ten had tried to do as well. She wasn't being sent away this time. "The game is almost over, Rose, and you can't be here for Moriarty to hold over my head."

"I'm not leaving you," Rose held her ground, her eyes growing moist but nothing dropping yet. "I can help with whatever you have planned, and I can protect myself from whatever Moriarty has planned."

"You can't help on this one, Rose."

"Why not." Sherlock didn't answer, he just took a couple steps forward and wrapped his arms around her. She stubbornly tried to fight to get out of his grip, wanting to argue this out until he relented, but he kept a firm grip, and the tears were blurring her vision, so after a moment she let him hold her.

"You just have to trust me, Rose."

"But I can help."

"I've got to do this on my own," he told her, and she knew he was right, but she wanted to ignore that, wanted to ignore him and her sisters and just run far away from Moriarty. She'd hide in Marbella this time if it meant saving Sherlock.

"Yeah." Sherlock pulled away and wiped off the stray tears.

"All I need you to do is trust me, know that I love you more than anything in this multi-universe, and I remember what I swore to you. So long as I'm alive, I'm going to always find a way to you, Rose."

"You better, because I'm done chasing after stupid geniuses that leave me behind," Rose joked, but does so sternly. "And I love you too, but I'm not going to Cardiff. I'll go to one of UNITs bases in town, none of Moriarty's men can follow there. You just call me when you've beaten him and I'll meet you back home, yeah?" Sherlock kissed her forehead in response.


	46. A Fall

**Quick update because I got two quick reviews. It was a long update before because I was waiting for more reviews.**

"I can still prove that you created an entirely false identity," Sherlock said.

"Oh, just kill yourself, it's a lot less effort," Moriarty groaned, rolling his eyes. Sherlock turned away and resisted the urge to pace, just barely. There had to be a way to avoid this, to avoid all the hurt, and he had to figure it out quickly. "Go on. For me. Pleaseee!"

Sherlock grabbed a hold of Moriarty's coat and twisted him around, dangling him over the side of the ledge he wanted Sherlock to jump from. "You're insane."

"You're just now getting that now?" Sherlock pushed him further over, he was willing to do it, willing to kill to ensure no one else could get hurt. "Whoa, whoa! Ok, let me give you a little extra incentive. Your friends will die if you don't."

He expected it, and yet, the threat to his people, his family, still stopped his heart. "John, Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade. Three bullets, three gunmen, three victims. There's no stopping them now." Moriarty smirked up at Sherlock, who kept him dangling over the edge, because there was one name missing, and Moriarty was going to make him ask.

"Rose?" Sherlock croaked out.

"Oh, Ms. Tyler deserves much more than a bullet to the back of the head," Moriarty whispered in reverence, and Sherlock thought he deserved to be dropped over the edge just for the thoughts going through his head at that moment. "I've many more than three men in place ready to bring out the big bad wolf." Sherlock roughly pulled Moriarty to his feet, staring over the edge unseeingly. He should have made her listen, made her leave town and run. The Doctor wasn't an idiot, wasn't selfish or cruel, Sherlock understood now, keep Rose far away from you when in danger, even if it hurts her for a bit, she's strong enough to get past anything, so long as you keep her alive.

"You can have me arrested." Moriarty said, smiling now that he'd caught his breath and controlled the adrenaline rush. "You can torture me. You can do anything you like with me. But nothing's going to prevent them from pulling the trigger. The only people in the world who care about you will die, unless..."

"Unless I kill myself, complete your story."

o0o0o0o0o

Sherlock waited, sure he knew John well enough that after he saw Mrs. Hudson was okay, he'd come back. Sherlock waited, on top of the building, until he saw the taxi pull up, then he pressed dial and prepared himself for the hardest conversation he'd ever have.

"Hello?" John answered, running inside.

"John."

"Hey, Sherlock, you okay?"

"Turn around and walk back the way you came." Sherlock ordered, he needed to be outside, John needed to believe he was dead, was a fraud, or it would all be for naught. They needed to hurt for awhile so that they'd live.

"No, I'm coming in."

"Just do as I ask! Please." He was shaking, dangerously shaking on the edge with a shaky voice ordering John to be in view of him.

"Where?"

"Stop there." Sherlock watched John move to a far enough distance that he wouldn't see the end result, that would be too much for him.

"Ok," Sherlock took a deep breath. "Look up. I'm on the rooftop."

"Oh, God," John blurted, but it wasn't a hopeless one, the idea wasn't in his head yet.

"I... I... I can't come down, so we'll just have to do it like this," Sherlock said regretfully, they were both owed more than this goodbye.

"What's going on?"

"An apology. It's all true."

"What?"

"Everything they said about me. I invented Moriarty." Sherlock looked back at the dead man that had killed himself to kill Sherlock. Apparently, staying alive was not worth allowing Sherlock to live as well. No, neither of them would come out of this a winner.

"Why are you saying this?" John asked.

"I'm a fake."

"Sherlock."

"The newspapers were right all along. I want you to tell Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, Molly and Rose..." Sherlock pulled the phone away as he gasped at the pain in his heart as the image of Rose finding out appeared in his mind eye. She'd be devastated, his Rose, who he swore to protect and keep safe and happy for the rest of their lives, and he was going to put that hurt in her heart. But it will still be beating. "Tell Rose- In fact, tell anyone who will listen to you that I created Moriarty for my own purposes."

"Ok, shut up, Sherlock, shut up," John ordered angrily. "The first time we met. The first time we met, you knew all about my sister, right?"

"Nobody could be that clever."

"You could." Sherlock gave a wet chuckle at the loyalty John had for him.

"I researched you." Sherlock pathetically lied. "Before we met, I discovered everything that I could to impress you. It's a trick, just a magic trick."

"No, all right, stop it now. What about Rose? You know her, you can't have looked her up."

"Rose?" Sherlock chuckled bitterly and looked up at the sky in prayer and hatred. "The only one I ever got wrong because I couldn't look her up. She took pity on me, thats the only reason she stayed."

"No, not her, I won't-" John cried desperately, marching forward.

"No, stay exactly where you are. Don't move."

"All right."

"Keep your eyes fixed on me." Sherlock locked eyes with John, and felt he had no right to ask his next question, and definitely no right to order it of him. "Please, will you do this for me?"

"Do what?"

"This phone call, it's um... It's my note. It's what people do, don't they? Leave a note?"

"Leave a note when?"

"Good bye, John."

"No-" John said, but Sherlock pulled the phone away because he couldn't hear it.

He looked away from John, looked forward and took a deep breath.

"SHERLOCK!"


	47. He Fell

Rose sat fiddling away at her desk, trying and failing to distract herself. A few of her workers had come in asking if she needed anything, but she'd shooed them away in favor of being alone. She didn't know what to expect with all of this, how long was she suppose to wait until Sherlock called her?

She couldn't get her heart out of her throat, and she couldn't get Eleven's bloody words out of her head. It wasn't going to end in a fall, she was going to get her happily ever after with Sherlock and she was finally going to get to grow old with someone she loved.

**ring**

Rose launched herself at her phone, picking it up frantically and answering without looking. "Sherlock?" She asked hopefully. There was a man's sigh on the other side of the phone that didn't belong to Sherlock, so she pulled the phone away and saw it was Greg. Life was much easier when only one person had her number. "Look, Greg, I get you feel bad for trying to arrest Sherlock and John, then actually arresting me, but I'm waiting for Sherlock to call so I'll just call you back later, yeah?" Rose moved to hangup but Greg spoke up quickly.

"Rose, I'm at St. Bart's we need you to come over here quickly," Greg said.

"I'm waiting on Sherlock, Greg." Rose snapped, hanging up then leaning back in her chair and tapping franticly on the top of her desk.

Ba da da dum.Ba da da dum.Ba da da dum.Ba da da dum.Ba da da dum.

**ring*** "Not now, Greg!" Rose growled.

"Rose, it's Molly," Molly said. "Sherlock is here with us, we just need you to come to St. Barts so we can all talk. We can't do it at Baker St. because there is still a warrant out for Sherlock's arrest."

"Oh," Rose said, standing up and grabbing her coat. "I'll be-" There was an odd sound on the other end of the phone, not coming from Molly but definitely coming from someone and it sounded like moaning. "Is everything alright?" Rose asked. "Can I talk to Sherlock or John?"

"John just went to the bathroom," Molly said quickly.

"I want to talk to Sherlock," Rose tried to demand, but her voice sounded meek. There's muffled talking on the other end of the phone, then Molly seemed to hand the phone over, for a moment easing Rose's worries that Sherlock wasn't actually there.

"Rose," Greg voice came back on the phone, and Rose had to hold herself up on her desk. "We'll just come to you, where are you?"

"No, put Sherlock on the phone right now!" Rose ordered, her breathing coming quicker and her head pounding.

"Rose-"

"He's gone!" Rose gasped as she heard the pained shout of John over the phone. Rose dropped the phone and bolted out of her office.

"No." Rose kept saying over and over again, running out of the office building and towards a UNIT car, driving recklessly towards home, barley seeing the roads past her blurry eyes. "Don't you dare do this to me, Sherlock Holmes."

Rose pulled up in front of 221 B Baker St, parking the car basically on the sidewalk, then running into the house, ignoring a weeping Mrs. Hudson and searching the house frantically, calling for Sherlock the whole time. When he didn't show up in the house, she took to the streets.

"Sherlock!" Rose yelled down alleys and streets, running over a longer distance than she ever had before, trying to cover all of London, then she'd cover all of the UK. "Sherlock!"

"Rose." A voice replied to her yell. Rose whipped around, her wild hair flipping in her face and getting stuck to the dark tear tracks on her cheeks. "Lets get you home, Rose." Mycroft stepped towards her, two other men showing up behind Rose, corralling her into a black car.

"Where's Sherlock," Rose demanded, not moving from her spot in the middle fo the sidewalk.

"We'll talk when I get you home, Rose," Mycroft told her gently, reaching for her as the other men were to.

"He can't do this to me," Rose whispered, making a run for a street she hadn't searched yet, but Mycroft's men grabbed her and forced her hand. Within three minutes, they were both unconscious on the ground with two nasty, foot size bumps growing on their heads. Mycroft watched helplessly as Rose continued running around London desperately shouting for Sherlock.

Eventually, Rose's lungs weren't strong enough to keep her going and she collapsed to her knees under a bride, hair fanning her face while the tears dripped down her nose. "Where is Sherlock?" Rose whispered, turning her head to the side to stare at a homeless woman looking at her pitifully.

"He fell," the woman whispered, flinching back when Rose's teary eyes turned gold and Rose let out a mournful scream. The homeless woman fled from her home under the bridge, leaving Rose alone with her sisters who could do nothing but watch as Rose Tyler, once again, died.


	48. Speak

"Yoo whoo, Rose?" Mrs. Hudson called, slowly opening the bedroom door and peaking her head in, sighing sadly when she saw Rose still laying in her and Sherlock's bed. "John and I are about to leave, are you sure you don't want to come with us, I'm sure it would mean a lot to both the boys." Mrs. Hudson watched for any sign of recognition or emotion to pass over the beautiful blonde's face, but there was still nothing.

"I'll bring back dinner again, then, dear. I'll tell John you're not feeling up to it."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Kitty Riley approached her door, pulling out her keys and unlocking the door, looking around the dark room of her living room and wondering if she'd paid her electric bill, because she was sure she'd left the lights on when she left, knowing how late she'd be coming back.

Luckily, she had remembered after all, as she tested the switch and watched the room illuminate to show every surface to be covered in images and documents and folders, with a single blonde woman sitting in the middle of it. Kitty gasped and dropped her keys, staring at the unfamiliar woman as she cocked her head to the side and looked up at Kitty with dead eyes.

"Richard Brooke," the woman said slowly, and a chill went up Kitty's spine. "German for Reichenbach, did you know?" Kitty opened her mouth, but the blonde went on. "Of course you didn't, because you're an idiot. A little play thing that James enjoyed using to get to Sherlock, whereas, had you been a true investigative journalist, or any true intelligent woman, you would have figured it out, Sherlock did the moment he read the name, as did I and his brother."

"I didn't know- no one did! I-" Kitty spoke frantically, dropping her purse and nearly dropping to her knees. Gone was the confidence she'd gained since her big break, gone was anything she was.

"He wanted to burn Sherlock, and you, you thoughtless, idiot, naive journalist, helped him. Moriarty was dead before I could get to him, but here you are."

"He tricked me, he- please you have to understand!" Kitty begged for her life, falling to her knees while the blonde stood up from where she sat cross legged.

"I don't care, we're done here." The woman stepped over all of the cases Sherlock Holmes had solved, all of the lives Sherlock Holmes had saved, and all of the lives James Moriarty had ruined and killed. Then she opened the door and slammed it behind her.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Sir, she's left her apartment, and is now leaving the apartment of Kitty Riley," the boy informed Mycroft, who nodded silently and asked for a car to be pulled around. It'd been two weeks since Sherlock's death, and Rose Tyler hadn't moved from her room since he and Lestrade picked her up from under a bridge. John Watson wasn't functioning much better, however he had reverted back to going to therapy, so Mycroft assumed that was doing better than Rose.

The car pulled up next to Rose, who was walking slowly back in the direction of Baker St. "Rose?" Mycroft called. No one had heard her speak in the weeks since Sherlock's death either. "If I go back to Ms. Riley's apartment, will I need to hire a discreet cleaning crew?" Rose sent him a side dirty look, but continued walking silently. Mycroft thought it was progress, but with the following questions he asked, he received no other response. All he could do was walk Rose home.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose sat on the floor of the living room, staring at Sherlock's chair, then staring at John's chair, and then staring at the filthy skeleton head on the mantle. Her phone sat on the ground in front of her, moving from side to side as Rose fiddled with it. She hadn't spoken to anyone in a month, excluding the cat woman she'd run out of town a week ago. But then, she'd tried to speak three times now, but each time, she went to voicemail. The last time, before she'd collapsed on the floor and took to beating her phone, her brother had answered but spoke fast enough that Rose hadn't gotten to say anything.

"Rose, stop calling, I'm sorry, but I just can't talk to you. I'm sorry." Then John had hung up. She should be crying, her brother wasn't talking to her and her heart was dead, but every time she cried, she screamed, and her throat hurt too much for that. She knew she needed to talk, but it was the first time she wanted to talk and there was no one to listen to her.

After a hour of staring at the skeleton head, Rose picked up her phone and chucked it out the closed window, watching the glass shatter onto the floor and dance in the sunlight. Rose stared at the rainbows casting from the broken glass for no more than five minutes, before turning away and walking out the front door. She didn't hail a cab, even though it was going to be a long walk, because she didn't want a cabbie to hear her.

Rose ended up at the entrance of the graveyard by sunset, standing between the two black gates, staring into the hill of dead bodies and headstones. It is entirely unfair for the dead to congregate in such beautiful place.

It was almost dark by the time Rose sat back down on the ground, staring up at the sky this time and fiddling with slowly growing grass. "I thought about bringing flowers, you know, I passed enough shops on the walk here, but then I also passed three morgues and wanted to bring you a couple hands as well. I decided I didn't want any of that here, with me, right now. I'd probably tear them apart."

The breeze blew a few leaves down on top of Rose, but she didn't brush them off, only picked one up off her hollow belly and held up to in the air, twirling it in her fingers then suddenly ripping it to pieces and watching them fall onto her chest. She dropped her arm back down and continued staring up at the night sky, counting the stars as they appeared and the sun set.

"I gave that up for you," Rose whispered when the sky was full of stars and she could no longer keep track of which ones she'd already counted. "I love you more than eternity, more than infinity, and more than all of time. I would have picked you over my sisters.

"Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies. Everyone dies. And yet Rose Tyler, I'm still here after everyones gone and died on me. I had the whole of time and space in my head, I could control it for, like, three minutes, and yeah, I was saving the Doctor, but you'd think I'd look into my own timeline and just grant me one happy thing that I could keep? Just one? But now, you!" Rose flipped onto her stomach and pointed her finger at the reflective headstone that read "Sherlock Holmes." "You had to go and fall! And you're not a character in this world, Doyle isn't going to just decide to write a new story to make more money. The Fall of the Reichenbach Hero and you played right into the story! After everything you changed! After Molly being a girl! After Mycroft being skinny and Lestrade not being an idiot! After me! You let us fall in love and then go ahead with the storyline anyways!" Rose screamed, because she was crying again.


	49. A Promise

"General, the rift is giving off odd waves of energies, nothing threatening, but it seems as though something is feeding off of it." Rose stepped up behind a soldier staring at the wavelengths on the screen in front of him.

"Aliens stop in to feed off rift energy yearly, there is no need to worry about it, Micheals." Rose brushed the concern off, looking over the other computers and soldiers in the room, waiting for someone to give her a mission to go on, she'd gotten back to Cardiff last night, and thanks to Bad Wolf, her sprained wrist was healed and she was ready to go again. She was hoping not to be in the UK long enough for Mycroft to hear and 'advise' her to retire from field missions, or at least choose to go on less dangerous ones.

"I understand, ma'am, but this is different than other ones. I've compared it to ones in the past and whatever ship is feeding off the energy has to be huge, at least the size of a three story building, but there are no reports of anyone seeing such a ship, despite readings claiming its sitting on top of the rift, not waiting in space."

"Size of a building?" Rose clarified, clenching her fist.

"At least, ma'am."

"Keep it to yourself, Sergeant Michaels," Rose ordered, turning and leaving the room. It wasn't going to be dangerous, but she was still able to feel the adrenaline she craved. The rush of a mission was all she felt these days, but this mission, or meeting, wasn't taking her mind off her memories like past ones did, which was dangerous.

Rose left UNIT Cardiff Headquarters and headed for downtown Cardiff, specifically the rift crack in the middle of it. She was not the least bit surprised to see a blue police box sitting on top of the rift, though she still sent a very angry feeling to both of her sisters for keeping it from her.

Rose banged on the doors of the TARDIS, ignoring the pinch of annoyance from her. "Rose!" The Doctor exclaimed, looking somewhat older and calmer than the last time he was in this universe, but Rose didn't care to hear if he'd grown up or not, she just marched into the control room far enough in for the doors to shut so no one would hear her.

"Where were you!" She screeched, the tears that were always held at bay springing to her eyes while the Doctor's eyes widened and he held up his hands in defense.

"What?" The Doctor complained, looking over at the controls when the TARDIS took flight without command.

"Where were you?" Rose repeated. "After all I did for you, Doctor! And for you!" Rose shouted at the TARDIS console, ignoring the frightened looks from Amy and Rory. "You couldn't bother to look after me?"

"Rose, what happened?" The Doctor asked softly.

"You don't know yet? Then there is still time, please Doctor, you owe me this!" Rose stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor's hand in a tight grip. "You have to go back and save Sherlock, Doctor."

"Oh, Rose," The Doctor deflated, squeezing Rose's hands back before she could wrench them away, "Rose, you know I can't do that, the events already happened."

"Change them!" Rose shouted. "You owe me, Doctor, after everything you put me through and I asked nothing in return."

"Rose, I can't-" the TARDIS touched down, and Rose looked at the console, desperately trying to connect with the TARDIS who was ignoring her.

"Please! I never asked for anything! I'm your sister!" Rose shouted at the TARDIS, but the doors opened and the TARDIS didn't reply and the Doctor didn't know what to say. He'd known Rose had felt pain when they'd been separated, but he'd never seen her broken like this, had never had to see the consequences. Rose looked away from both of them, looking out the doors of the TARDIS to see she'd landed them on a beach.

"Bitch," Rose whispered bitterly at her sister, making the Doctor pull away from her. Good, she thought, it was fitting after all, she should be left on the beach for the third time. She'd told the Doctor the same thing after all, third strike and she is out.

"Rose," the Doctor started, moving to grab her but she sidestepped him and walked out the door, not turning back when the doors shut behind her and the rotors started up immediately.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose stood on Bad Wolf bay, staring out as the waves crashed over each other, loud enough that she barely heard it as the TARDIS left her on the beach again. She didn't have anything with her except the clothes on her back. She hadn't taken her phone with her when she left the office, and had stopped carrying weapons unless someone made her.

She wanted out of this life, she was tired of living while everyone else died, which was why, when she learned the TARDIS was back, she didn't even entertain the thought of taking the Doctor up on his offer. She'd already lived too long, a Time Lady's life span would destroy her soul.

So, all Rose had left at her disposal were those waves. She was a good enough swimmer, but figured if she walked in with her clothes and her shoes, that would help the process along.

"Doctor, John Noble, Sherlock Holmes." Rose whispered to the wind, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, then lifting a foot to head into the water.

"Rose."

Her eyes snapped open, but she didn't turn around. For a moment, she thought, maybe she'd walked into the water already, maybe her body was surrounded by beautiful fishes and her soul was standing on Bad Wolf bay, getting ready to greet all the ones waiting for her on the other side.

"Rose."

She wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling hollow and too full at the same time, she didn't have the strength to turn around. She'd rather live on the beach and never step foot in the alluring water, then to turn around and find it was the whispers of the wind.

"You always turn around. Every time we try to walk away, we turn around."

Rose took in a shaky breath, then turned around and let loose a laughing sob, covering her mouth and shaking her head as she took in Sherlock standing on Bad Wolf bay, both of them very much alive. "Sherlock," Rose sobbed, barely able to contain herself as he strode forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him. Rose cried into his shoulder, too overcome with emotion to form words or thoughts.

They stood clinging to each other for a long time before Rose calmed down enough to pull away and look at him, reaching up and cupping his face. "How are you here?"

"I swore I would always find my way back to you, Rose Tyler, you're sister just sped the process along. She picked me up from Russia and dropped me off here," Sherlock explained with a chuckle, brushing Rose's blonde hair gently out of her face.

"You faked the fall, you're alive," Rose realized, running her hands over his face, through his hair and to his shoulder, taking him in and finally breathing easily again.

"I'm alive, and I'm never going to leave you. I'm going to stay with you forever, if you'll have me."

Rose was crying again, leaning her forehead against his and breathing him in. "I love you, Sherlock Holmes."

"I love you, Rose Tyler."


End file.
